We demonstrate that non-convex Lagrangians, as contemplated in the theory of time crystals, can arise in the effective description of conventional, physically realizable systems. Such embeddings resolve dynamical singularities which arise in the redu
ced description. Microstructure featuring intervals of fixed velocity interrupted by quick resets - ``Sisyphus dynamics - is a generic consequence. In quantum mechanics this microstructure can be blurred, leaving entirely regular behavior.
We derive a generalized set of Ward identities that captures the effects of topological charge on Hall transport. The Ward identities follow from the 2+1 dimensional momentum algebra, which includes a central extension proportional to the topological
charge density. In the presence of topological objects like Skyrmions, we observe that the central term leads to a direct relation between the thermal Hall conductivity and the topological charge density. We extend this relation to incorporate the effects of a magnetic field and an electric current. The topological charge density produces a distinct signature in the electric Hall conductivity, which is identified in existing experimental data, and yields further novel predictions. For insulating materials with translation invariance, the Hall viscosity can be directly determined from the Skyrmion density and the thermal Hall conductivity to be measured as a function of momentum.
The conclusion of the original paper was wrong, due to the incorrect assumption that the low-energy limit at the strongly-coupled point consists of a single, coupled SCFT. By taking into account the fact that the low-energy limit consists of multiple
decoupled parts, it was later shown in arXiv:1011.4568 that there is no violation of the a-theorem in this system. Furthermore, the a-theorem itself was convincingly demonstrated in arXiv:1107.3987, and the argument presented there has been further refined. The rest of this paper is kept as it was, for some parts of the discussions might still be of interest. Original abstract: We exhibit a renormalization group flow for a four-dimensional gauge theory along which the conformal central charge a increases. The flow connects the maximally superconformal point of an N=2 gauge theory with gauge group SU(N+1) and N_f=2N flavors in the ultraviolet, to a strongly-coupled superconformal point of the SU(N) gauge theory with N_f=2N massless flavors in the infrared. Our example does not contradict the proof of the a-theorem via a-maximization, due to the presence of accidental symmetries in the infrared limit. Nor does it contradict the holographic a-theorem, because these gauge theories do not possess weakly-curved holographic duals.
We extend the work of Hellerman (arxiv:0902.2790) to derive an upper bound on the conformal dimension $Delta_2$ of the next-to-lowest nontrival primary operator in unitary two-dimensional conformal field theories without chiral primary operators. The
bound we find is of the same form as found for $Delta_1$: $Delta_2 leq c_{tot}/12 + O(1)$. We find a similar bound on the conformal dimension $Delta_3$, and present a method for deriving bounds on $Delta_n$ for any $n$, under slightly modified assumptions. For asymptotically large $c_{tot}$ and fixed $n$, we show that $Delta_n leq frac{c_{tot}}{12}+O(1)$. We conclude with a brief discussion of the gravitational implications of these results.
We show how changes in unitarity-preserving boundary conditions allow continuous interpolation among the Hilbert spaces of quantum mechanics on topologically distinct manifolds. We present several examples, including a computation of entanglement ent
ropy production. We discuss approximate realization of boundary conditions through appropriate interactions, thus suggesting a route to possible experimental realization. We give a theoretical application to quantization of singular Hamiltonians, and give tangible form to the many worlds interpretation of wave functions.
Renormalization group flows of quiver gauge theories play a central role in determining the low-energy properties of string vacua. We demonstrate that useful predictions about the RG dynamics of a quiver gauge theory may be extracted from the global
structure of its quiver diagram. For quiver theories of a certain type, we develop an efficient and practical method for determining which superpotential deformations generate a flow to an interacting conformal fixed point.
We present a general method for computing the central charges a and c of N=2 superconformal field theories corresponding to singular points in the moduli space of N=2 gauge theories. Our method relates a and c to the U(1)_R anomalies of the topologic
ally twisted gauge theory. We evaluate these anomalies by studying the holomorphic dependence of the path integral measure on the moduli. We calculate a and c for superconformal points in a variety of gauge theories, including N=4 SU(N), N=2 pure SU(N) Yang-Mills, and USp(2N) with 1 massless antisymmetric and 4 massive fundamental hypermultiplets. In the latter case, we reproduce the conformal and flavor central charges previously calculated using the gravity duals of these gauge theories. For any SCFT in the class under consideration, we derive a previously conjectured expression for 2a-c in terms of the sum of the dimensions of operators parameterizing the Coulomb branch. Finally, we prove that the ratio a/c is bounded above by 5/4 and below by 1/2.
We study the classification of 2-dimensional scale-invariant rigid special Kahler (RSK) geometries, which potentially describe the Coulomb branches of N=2 supersymmetric field theories in four dimensions. We show that this classification is equivalen
t to the solution of a set of polynomial equations by using an integrability condition for the central charge, scale invariance, constraints coming from demanding single-valuedness of physical quantities on the Coulomb branch, and properties of massless BPS states at singularities. We find solutions corresponding to lagrangian scale invariant theories--including the scale invariant G_2 theory not found before in the literature--as well as many new isolated solutions (having no marginal deformations). All our scale-invariant RSK geometries are consistent with an interpretation as effective theories of N=2 superconformal field theories, and, where we can check, turn out to exist as quantum field theories.
The behaviour of matrix string theory in the background of a type IIA pp wave at small string coupling, g_s << 1, is determined by the combination M g_s where M is a dimensionless parameter proportional to the strength of the Ramond-Ramond background
. For M g_s << 1, the matrix string theory is conventional; only the degrees of freedom in the Cartan subalgebra contribute, and the theory reduces to copies of the perturbative string. For M g_s >> 1, the theory admits degenerate vacua representing fundamental strings blown up into fuzzy spheres with nonzero lightcone momenta. We determine the spectrum of small fluctuations around these vacua. Around such a vacuum all N-squared degrees of freedom are excited with comparable energies. The spectrum of masses has a spacing which is independent of the radius of the fuzzy sphere, in agreement with expected behaviour of continuum giant gravitons. Furthermore, for fuzzy spheres characterized by reducible representations of SU(2) and vanishing Wilson lines, the boundary conditions on the field are characterized by a set of continuous angles which shows that generically the blown up strings do not ``close.
