Related papers: Defect $a$-Theorem and $a$-Maximization
It is generally taken for granted that two-dimensional critical phenomena can be fully classified by the well known two-dimensional (rational) conformal quantum field theories (CQFTs). In particular it is believed that in models with a…
Conformal symmetry underlies many massless quantum field theories, but little is known about the consequences of this powerful symmetry for on-shell scattering amplitudes. Working in a dimensionally-regularised $\phi^3$ model at the…
We develop the idea of an effective conformal theory describing the low-lying spectrum of the dilatation operator in a CFT. Such an effective theory is useful when the spectrum contains a hierarchy in the dimension of operators, and a small…
We study the effects of symmetry-breaking defects at continuous quantum transitions (CQTs), which may arise from localized external fields coupled to the order-parameter operator. The problem is addressed within renormalization-group (RG)…
Two-dimensional conformal field theory (CFT) has several sources: the search for simple examples of quantum field theory, the description of surface critical phenomena, the study of (super)string vacua. In the present overview of the…
The Zamolodchikov c-theorem has led to important new insights in our understanding of the renormalisation group and the geometry of the space of QFTs. Here, we review the parallel developments of the search for a higher-dimensional…
We study a surface defect in the free and critical $O(N)$ vector models, defined by adding a quadratic perturbation localized on a two-dimensional subspace of the $d$-dimensional CFT. We compute the beta function for the corresponding…
We study gapped 4d quantum field theories (QFTs) obtained from a relevant deformation of a UV conformal field theory (CFT). For simplicity, we assume the existence of a $\mathbb{Z}_2$ symmetry and a single $\mathbb{Z}_2$-odd stable particle…
If the coupling constants in QFT are promoted to functions of space-time, the dependence of the path integral on these couplings is highly constrained by conformal symmetry. We begin the present note by showing that this idea leads to a new…
We systematically explore the space of renormalization group flows of four-dimensional $\mathcal{N}=1$ superconformal field theories (SCFTs) triggered by relevant deformations, as well as by coupling to free chiral multiplets with relevant…
We study the momentum space representation of energy-momentum tensor two-point functions on a space with a planar boundary in $d=3$. We show that non-conservation of momentum in the direction perpendicular to the boundary allows for new…
Anomalous chiral conductivities in theories with global anomalies are independent of whether they are computed in a weakly coupled quantum (or thermal) field theory, hydrodynamics, or at infinite coupling from holography. While the presence…
In this paper we use the AdS/CFT correspondence to refine and then establish a set of old conjectures about symmetries in quantum gravity. We first show that any global symmetry, discrete or continuous, in a bulk quantum gravity theory with…
I study the two-dimensional defects of the $d$ dimensional critical $O(N)$ model and the defect RG flows between them. By combining the $\epsilon$-expansion around $d = 4$ and $d = 6$ as well as large $N$ techniques, I find new conformal…
We consider two conformal defects close to each other in a free theory, and study what happens as the distance between them goes to zero. This limit is the same as zooming out, and the two defects have fused to another defect. As we zoom in…
We study symmetry-breaking line defects in the Wilson-Fisher theory with $O(2N+1)$ global symmetry near four dimensions and symmetry-preserving surface defects in a cubic model with $O(2N)$ global symmetry near six dimensions. We introduce…
We find a class of four dimensional deformed conformal field theories which appear extra dimensional when their gauge symmetries are spontaneously broken. The theories are supersymmetric moose models which flow to interacting conformal…
A challenge in the study of conformal field theory (CFT) is to characterize the possible defects in specific bulk CFTs. Given the success of numerical bootstrap techniques applied to the characterization of bulk CFTs, it is desirable to…
We discuss in the planar approximation the effect of double-trace deformations on CFT's. We show that this large class of models posses a conformal window describing a non-trivial flow between two fixed points of the renormalization group,…
We study various aspects of codimension one defects in free scalar field theory, with particular emphasis on line defects in two-dimensions. These defects are generically non-conformal, but include conformal and topological defects as…