English

Semiclassics at the cusp

High Energy Physics - Theory 2026-04-20 v1

Abstract

We study cusped Wilson line operators in the Abelian Higgs model in d=4ϵ d = 4 - \epsilon at large external charges. Using a double-scaling limit Q Q \to \infty , ϵ0 \epsilon \to 0 with Qϵ Q\epsilon fixed, we develop a semiclassical framework that provides analytic control beyond fixed-order perturbation theory. We compute the cusp anomalous dimension for arbitrary charges up to next-to-next-to-leading order in the gauge coupling, while resumming scalar self-interactions to all orders. Our results interpolate between perturbative and large-charge regimes, accessing domains that are invisible in fixed-order perturbation theory. As an application, we provide new predictions for various defect CFT observables, including the Mandelstam-Schwinger-dressed two-point function characterizing the superconducting phase transition.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2604.15422,
  title  = {Semiclassics at the cusp},
  author = {Jahmall Bersini and Domenico Orlando and Susanne Reffert and Jesse Woods},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2604.15422},
  year   = {2026}
}

Comments

30 pages + appendices

R2 v1 2026-07-01T12:13:23.356Z