Emergent structures in open EFTs
Abstract
Open effective field theories provide a systematic framework for describing systems coupled to an environment, where dissipation, noise, and modified conservation laws naturally arise. Working within the Schwinger-Keldysh formalism, we examine open extensions of three well-studied theories: the superfluid, Maxwell theory, and Einstein gravity. In gauge and gravitational theories, open terms that break advanced symmetries while preserving physical ones are not automatically consistent; they are allowed only if they lead to deformed identities among the equations of motion. We explicitly construct such a term in open gravity and show that it leads to a consistent deformation of the diffeomorphism identities.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2509.13284,
title = {Emergent structures in open EFTs},
author = {Perseas Christodoulidis},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2509.13284},
year = {2026}
}
Comments
v2: new result on consistency of open terms in gravity and correction of previous claim; v1: 9+1 pages