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We initiate the S-matrix bootstrap analysis of theories with non-invertible symmetries in (1+1) dimensions. Our previous work showed that crossing symmetry of S-matrices in such theories is modified, with modification characterized by the fusion category data. By imposing unitarity, symmetry and the modified crossing, we constrain the space of consistent S-matrices, identifying integrable theories with non-invertible symmetries at the cusps of allowed regions. We also extend the modified crossing rules to cases where vacua transform in non-regular representations of fusion category, utilizing a connection to a dual category $\mathscr C^{*}_{\mathscr{M}}$ and Symmetry Topological Field Theory (SymTFT). This highlights the utility of SymTFT in the analysis of scattering amplitudes., Comment: 33 pages plus appendices

We extend our study of integrable structures in large $N_c$ QCD$_2$ to a broad class of theories called the generalized QCD, which are given by the Lagrangian $\mathcal{L}\propto {\rm tr}\,B\wedge F- {\rm tr}\,V(B)$ coupled to quarks in the fundamental representation. We recast the Bethe-Salpeter equation for the meson spectrum into a TQ-Baxter equation and determine a transfer matrix in a closed form for any given polynomial $V(B)$. Using this reformulation, we derive the asymptotic expansion of energy levels and wavefunctions. Examining the analytic structure of the spectrum as a function of the coefficients of $V(B)$, we determine the region of couplings where the theory admits a positive and discrete spectrum of mesons. Furthermore, we uncover a multi-sheeted structure with infinitely many multi-critical points, where several mesons become simultaneously massless. Lastly, we illustrate that this structure persists in the large-representation limit of the generalized QCD with the SU(2) gauge group., Comment: 62 pages; v2: Added Appendix E: "Non-critical spontaneous symmetry breaking of PT-symmetry", typos corrected

We study correlation functions on the Coulomb branch of planar $\mathcal{N} = 4$ super-Yang- Mills theory (SYM), and their relationship with integrability, the operator product expansion (OPE), the sum rule, the large charge expansion, and holography. First, we compute one-point functions of arbitrary scalar operators at weak coupling and derive a compact spin-chain representation. We next study the two-point functions of chiral primaries at one loop and find that the radius of convergence of OPE in position space is infinite. We estimate the asymptotic growth of the OPE data based on this finding. Finally, we propose a concrete nonperturbative formula that connects the correlation functions on the Coulomb branch with the correlation functions with large charge insertions at the conformal point and provide a holographic interpretation based on a large D3-brane in AdS. The formula extends the known connection between the large charge sector and the Coulomb branch for rank-1 theories to the large $N$ limit., Comment: 51 pages

We show that crossing symmetry of S-matrices is modified in certain theories with non-invertible symmetries or anomalies. Focusing on integrable flows to gapped phases in two dimensions, we find that S-matrices derived previously from the bootstrap approach are incompatible with non-invertible symmetries along the flow. We present consistent alternatives, which however violate standard crossing symmetry and obey modified rules dictated by fusion categories. We extend these rules to theories with discrete anomalies., Comment: 7 pages plus supplemental material, v2: references added, typos corrected

We revisit the Berenstein-Maldacena-Nastase (BMN) conjecture relating M-theory on a PP-wave background and Matrix Quantum Mechanics (MQM) of $N\times N$ matrices. In particular, we study the BMN MQM at strong coupling and finite $N$ and derive an effective Hamiltonian that describes non-relativistic free particles in a harmonic trap. The energy spectrum predicted by this Hamiltonian matches the supergravity excitation spectrum around the PP-wave background, if we further assume the existence of bound states. Our derivation is based on the strong coupling expansion of the wavefunction and supersedes the naive path integral approach that can lead to incorrect results, as we demonstrate in a simple toy model. We conclude with open questions about various regimes of the theory when we vary the size of the matrices, the coupling and the temperature., Comment: 40 pages + appendices, 6 figures

We study finite-coupling effects of QFT on a rigid de Sitter (dS) background taking the $O(N)$ vector model at large $N$ as a solvable example. Extending standard large $N$ techniques to the dS background, we analyze the phase structure and late-time four-point functions. Explicit computations reveal that the spontaneous breaking of continuous symmetries is prohibited due to strong IR effects, akin to flat two-dimensional space. Resumming loop diagrams, we compute the late-time four-point functions of vector fields at large $N$, demonstrating that their spectral density is meromorphic in the spectral plane and positive along the principal series. These results offer highly nontrivial checks of unitarity and analyticity for cosmological correlators., Comment: 25 pages, 3 figures

We study analytical properties and integrable structures of the meson spectrum in large $N_c$ QCD$_2$. We show that the integral equation that determines the masses of the mesons, often called the 't Hooft equation, is equivalent to finding solutions to a TQ-Baxter equation. Using the Baxter equation, we extract systematic expansions of the energy levels as well as analytic asymptotic expressions for wavefunctions. Our analysis extends previous results for a special quark mass by Fateev et al. to arbitrary quark masses. This reformulation, together with its relation to an inhomogeneous Fredholm equation, is particularly suited for analytical treatments and makes accessible the analytic structure of the spectrum in the complex plane of the quark masses. We also comment on applications of our techniques to non-perturbative topological string partition functions., Comment: 63 pages + appendices; v2: Typos corrected and references added

Anti-de-Sitter space acts as an infra-red cut off for asymptotically free theories, allowing interpolation between a weakly-coupled small-sized regime and a strongly-coupled flat-space regime. We scrutinize the interpolation for theories in two dimensions from the perspective of boundary conformal theories. We show that the appearance of a singlet marginal operator destabilizes a gapless phase existing at a small size, triggering a boundary renormalization group flow to a gapped phase that smoothly connects to flat space. We conjecture a similar mechanism for confinement in gauge theories., Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures; v2: typo corrected, reference added; v3: typos corrected

We compute the tree-level connected six-point function of identical scalar fluctuations of the AdS$_2$ string worldsheet dual to the half-BPS Wilson line in planar ${\cal N}=4$ Super Yang-Mills. The calculation can be carried out analytically in the conformal gauge approach, where the boundary reparametrization mode of the string plays a crucial role. We also study the analytic continuation of the six-point function to an out-of-time-order configuration, which is related to a 3-to-3 scattering amplitude in flat space. As a check of our results, we also numerically compute the six-point function using the Nambu-Goto action in static gauge, finding agreement with the conformal gauge answer., Comment: 52 pages, 8 figures

The planar integrability of $\mathcal{N}=4$ super-Yang-Mills (SYM) is the cornerstone for numerous exact observables. We show that the large charge sector of the ${\rm SU}(2)$ $\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM provides another interesting solvable corner which exhibits striking similarities despite being far from the planar limit. We study non-BPS operators obtained by small deformations of half-BPS operators with $R$-charge $J$ in the limit $J\to\infty$ with $\lambda_{J}\equiv g_{\rm YM}^2 J/2$ fixed. The dynamics in this {\it large charge 't Hooft limit} is constrained by a centrally-extended $\mathfrak{psu}(2|2)^2$ symmetry that played a crucial role for the planar integrability. To the leading order in $1/J$, the spectrum is fully fixed by this symmetry, manifesting the magnon dispersion relation familiar from the planar limit, while it is constrained up to a few constants at the next order. We also determine the structure constant of two large charge operators and the Konishi operator, revealing a rich structure interpolating between the perturbative series at weak coupling and the worldline instantons at strong coupling. In addition we compute heavy-heavy-light-light (HHLL) four-point functions of half-BPS operators in terms of resummed conformal integrals and recast them into an integral form reminiscent of the hexagon formalism in the planar limit. For general ${\rm SU}(N)$ gauge groups, we study integrated HHLL correlators by supersymmetric localization and identify a dual matrix model of size $J/2$ that reproduces our large charge result at $N=2$. Finally we discuss a relation to the physics on the Coulomb branch and explain how the dilaton Ward identity emerges from a limit of the conformal block expansion. We comment on generalizations including the large spin 't Hooft limit, the combined large $N$-large $J$ limits, and applications to general $\mathcal{N}=2$ superconformal field theories., Comment: 120 pages

We study the holographic correlators corresponding to scattering of fluctuations of an open string worldsheet with AdS$_2$ geometry. In the out-of-time-order configuration, the correlators display a Lyapunov growth that saturates the chaos bound. We show that in a double-scaling limit interpolating between the Lyapunov regime and the late time exponential decay, the out-of-time-order correlator (OTOC) can be obtained exactly, and it has the same functional form found in the analogous calculation in JT gravity. The result can be understood as coming from high energy scattering near the horizon of a AdS$_2$ black hole, and is essentially controlled by the flat space worldsheet S-matrix. While previous works on the AdS$_2$ string employed mainly a static gauge approach, here we focus on conformal gauge and clarify the role of boundary reparametrizations in the calculation of the correlators. We find that the reparametrization mode is governed by a non-local action which is distinct from the Schwarzian action arising in JT gravity, and in particular leads to $SL(2,\mathbb{R})$ invariant boundary correlators. The OTOC in the double-scaling limit, however, has the same functional form as that obtained from the Schwarzian, and it can be computed using the reparametrization action and resumming a subset of diagrams that are expected to dominate in the limit. One application of our results is to the defect CFT defined by the half-BPS Wilson loop in ${\cal N}=4$ SYM. In this context, we show that the exact result for the OTOC in the double-scaling limit is in precise agreement with a recent analytic bootstrap prediction to three-loop order at strong coupling., Comment: 66 + 21 pages, 4 figures; v2 Added figures 2, 3, and 5, clarified discussions in section 3 and section 6.3, and made additional minor edits. Results unchanged

We continue our study of large charge limits of the defect CFT defined by the half-BPS Wilson loop in planar $\mathcal{N}=4$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory. In this paper, we compute $1/J$ corrections to the correlation function of two heavy insertions of charge $J$ and two light insertions, in the double scaling limit where the charge $J$ and the 't Hooft coupling $\lambda$ are sent to infinity with the ratio $J/\sqrt{\lambda}$ fixed. Holographically, they correspond to quantum fluctuations around a classical string solution with large angular momentum, and can be computed by evaluating Green's functions on the worldsheet. We derive a representation of the Green's functions in terms of a sum over residues in the complexified Fourier space, and show that it gives rise to the conformal block expansion in the heavy-light channel. This allows us to extract the scaling dimensions and structure constants for an infinite tower of non-protected dCFT operators. We also find a close connection between our results and the semi-classical integrability of the string sigma model. The series of poles of the Green's functions in Fourier space corresponds to points on the spectral curve where the so-called quasi-momentum satisfies a quantization condition, and both the scaling dimensions and the structure constants in the heavy-light channel take simple forms when written in terms of the spectral curve. These observations suggest extensions of the results by Gromov, Schafer-Nameki and Vieira on the semiclassical energy of closed strings, and in particular hint at the possibility of determining the structure constants directly from the spectral curve., Comment: 77 + 35 pages, 18 figures

We study crosscap states in integrable field theories and spin chains in 1+1 dimensions. We derive an exact formula for overlaps between the crosscap state and any excited state in integrable field theories with diagonal scattering. We then compute the crosscap entropy, i.e. the overlap for the ground state, in some examples. In the examples we analyzed, the result turns out to decrease monotonically along the renormalization group flow except in cases where the discrete symmetry is spontaneously broken in the infrared. We next introduce crosscap states in integrable spin chains, and obtain determinant expressions for the overlaps with energy eigenstates. These states are long-range entangled and their entanglement entropy grows linearly until the size of the subregion reaches half the system size. This property is reminiscent of pure-state black holes in holography and makes them interesting for use as initial conditions of quantum quench. As side results, we propose a generalization of Zamolodchikov's staircase model to flows between D-series minimal models, and discuss the relation to fermionic minimal models and the GSO projection., Comment: 39 pages, 8 figures

We study the large charge sector of the defect CFT defined by the half-BPS Wilson loop in planar $\mathcal{N}=4$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory. Specifically, we consider correlation functions of two large charge insertions and several light insertions in the double-scaling limit where the 't Hooft coupling $\lambda$ and the large charge $J$ are sent to infinity, with the ratio $J/\sqrt{\lambda}$ held fixed. They are holographically dual to the expectation values of light vertex operators on a classical string solution with large angular momentum, which we evaluate in the leading large $J$ limit. We also compute the two-point function of large charge insertions by evaluating the on-shell string action, supplemented by the boundary terms that generalize the one introduced by Drukker, Gross and Ooguri for the Wilson loop without insertions. For a special class of correlation functions, we reproduce the string results from field theory by using supersymmetric localization. The results are given by correlation functions in an "emergent" matrix model whose matrix size is proportional to $J$ and whose spectral curve coincides with that of the classical string. Similar matrix models appeared in the study of extremal correlators in rank-1 $\mathcal{N}=2$ superconformal field theories, but our results hold also for non-extremal cases., Comment: 60 pages, 6 figures; v2: footnote 4 edited, reference added

We study the fundamentals of quantum field theory on a rigid de Sitter space. We show that the perturbative expansion of late-time correlation functions to all orders can be equivalently generated by a non-unitary Lagrangian on a Euclidean AdS geometry. This finding simplifies dramatically perturbative computations, as well as allows us to establish basic properties of these correlators, which comprise a Euclidean CFT. We use this to infer the analytic structure of the spectral density that captures the conformal partial wave expansion of a late-time four-point function, to derive an OPE expansion, and to constrain the operator spectrum. Generically, dimensions and OPE coefficients do not obey the usual CFT notion of unitarity. Instead, unitarity of the de Sitter theory manifests itself as the positivity of the spectral density. This statement does not rely on the use of Euclidean AdS Lagrangians and holds non-perturbatively. We illustrate and check these properties by explicit calculations in a scalar theory by computing first tree-level, and then full one-loop-resummed exchange diagrams. An exchanged particle appears as a resonant feature in the spectral density which can be potentially useful in experimental searches., Comment: 94 pages, 22 figures; v4: minor corrections

Social and professional networks affect labor market dynamics, knowledge diffusion and new business creation. To understand the determinants of how these networks are formed in the first place, we analyze a unique dataset of business cards exchanges among a sample of over 240,000 users of the multi-platform contact management and professional social networking tool for individuals Eight. We develop a structural model of network formation with strategic interactions, and we estimate users' payoffs that depend on the composition of business relationships, as well as indirect business interactions. We allow heterogeneity of users in both observable and unobservable characteristics to affect how relationships form and are maintained. The model's stationary equilibrium delivers a likelihood that is a mixture of exponential random graph models that we can characterize in closed-form. We overcome several econometric and computational challenges in estimation, by exploiting a two-step estimation procedure, variational approximations and minorization-maximization methods. Our algorithm is scalable, highly parallelizable and makes efficient use of computer memory to allow estimation in massive networks. We show that users payoffs display homophily in several dimensions, e.g. location; furthermore, users unobservable characteristics also display homophily., Comment: This version employs Uber's H3 index to measure geospatial homophily. Higher number of iterations are used for the EM algorithm. We evaluate convergence of the lower bound, and evaluate the impact of including covariates information for block recovery compared to when this information is not used. We open sourced the library employed for this research and include a link to the repository

We study correlation functions of D-branes and a supergravity mode in AdS, which are dual to structure constants of two sub-determinant operators with large charge and a BPS single-trace operator. Our approach is inspired by the large charge expansion of CFT and resolves puzzles and confusions in the literature on the holographic computation of correlation functions of heavy operators. In particular, we point out two important effects which are often missed in the literature; the first one is an average over classical configurations of the heavy state, which physically amounts to projecting the state to an eigenstate of quantum numbers. The second one is the contribution from wave functions of the heavy state. To demonstrate the power of the method, we first analyze the three-point functions in $\mathcal{N}=4$ super Yang-Mills and reproduce the results in field theory from holography, including the cases for which the previous holographic computation gives incorrect answers. We then apply it to ABJM theory and make solid predictions at strong coupling. Finally we comment on possible applications to states dual to black holes and fuzzballs., Comment: References added, typos corrected

We develop an integrability-based framework to compute structure constants of two sub-determinant operators and a single-trace non-BPS operator in ABJM theory in the planar limit. In this first paper, we study them at weak coupling using a relation to an integrable spin chain. We first develop a nested Bethe ansatz for an alternating SU(4) spin chain that describes single-trace operators made out of scalar fields. We then apply it to the computation of the structure constants and show that they are given by overlaps between a Bethe eigenstate and a matrix product state. We conjecture that the determinant operator corresponds to an integrable matrix product state and present a closed-form expression for the overlap, which resembles the so-called Gaudin determinant. We also provide evidence for the integrability of general sub-determinant operators. The techniques developed in this paper can be applied to other quantities in ABJM theory including three-point functions of single-trace operators., Comment: Typos corrected, report number added, published version

Quantum field theories in AdS generate conformal correlation functions on the boundary, and in the limit where AdS is nearly flat one should be able to extract an S-matrix from such correlators. We discuss a particularly simple position-space procedure to do so. It features a direct map from boundary positions to (on-shell) momenta and thereby relates cross ratios to Mandelstam invariants. This recipe succeeds in several examples, includes the momentum-conserving delta functions, and can be shown to imply the two proposals in arXiv:1607.06109 based on Mellin space and on the OPE data. Interestingly the procedure does not always work: the Landau singularities of a Feynman diagram are shown to be part of larger regions, to be called `bad regions', where the flat-space limit of the Witten diagram diverges. To capture these divergences we introduce the notion of Landau diagrams in AdS. As in flat space, these describe on-shell particles propagating over large distances in a complexified space, with a form of momentum conservation holding at each bulk vertex. As an application we recover the anomalous threshold of the four-point triangle diagram at the boundary of a bad region., Comment: 75 pages, 21 figures; v2 a footnote and a reference added

We introduce a bosonic ambitwistor string theory in AdS space. Even though the theory is anomalous at the quantum level, one can nevertheless use it in the classical limit to derive a novel formula for correlation functions of boundary CFT operators in arbitrary space-time dimensions. The resulting construction can be treated as a natural extension of the CHY formalism for the flat-space S-matrix, as it similarly expresses tree-level amplitudes in AdS as integrals over the moduli space of Riemann spheres with punctures. These integrals localize on an operator-valued version of scattering equations, which we derive directly from the ambitwistor string action on a coset manifold. As a testing ground for this formalism we focus on the simplest case of ambitwistor string coupled to two current algebras, which gives bi-adjoint scalar correlators in AdS. In order to evaluate them directly, we make use of a series of contour deformations on the moduli space of punctured Riemann spheres and check that the result agrees with tree level Witten diagram computations to all multiplicity. We also initiate the study of eigenfunctions of scattering equations in AdS, which interpolate between conformal partial waves in different OPE channels, and point out a connection to an elliptic deformation of the Calogero-Sutherland model., Comment: 44 pages; v2 References added. Modified discussion of anomalies in sections 2 and 3. Main results unchanged

The 1/2-BPS Wilson loop in $\mathcal{N}=4$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory is an important and well-studied example of conformal defect. In particular, much work has been done for the correlation functions of operator insertions on the Wilson loop in the fundamental representation. In this paper, we extend such analyses to Wilson loops in the large-rank symmetric and antisymmetric representations, which correspond to probe D3 and D5 branes with $AdS_2 \times S^2$ and $AdS_2 \times S^4$ worldvolume geometries, ending at the $AdS_5$ boundary along a one-dimensional contour. We first compute the correlation functions of protected scalar insertions from supersymmetric localization, and obtain a representation in terms of multiple integrals that are similar to the eigenvalue integrals of the random matrix, but with important differences. Using ideas from the Fermi Gas formalism and the Clustering method, we evaluate their large $N$ limit exactly as a function of the 't Hooft coupling. The results are given by simple integrals of polynomials that resemble the $Q$-functions of the Quantum Spectral Curve, with integration measures depending on the number of insertions. Next, we study the correlation functions of fluctuations on the probe D3 and D5 branes in AdS. We compute a selection of three- and four-point functions from perturbation theory on the D-branes, and show that they agree with the results of localization when restricted to supersymmetric kinematics. We also explain how the difference of the internal geometries of the D3 and D5 branes manifests itself in the localization computation., Comment: 91 pages, 19 figures

The four dimensional $\mathcal{N}=4$ super-Yang-Mills (SYM) theory exhibits rich dynamics in the presence of codimension-one conformal defects. The new structure constants of the extended operator algebra consist of one-point functions of local operators which are nonvanishing due to the defect insertion and carry nontrivial coupling dependence. We study an important class of half-BPS superconformal defects engineered by D5 branes that share three common directions with the D3 branes and involve Nahm pole configurations for the SYM fields on the D3 brane worldvolume. In the planar large $N$ limit, we obtain non-perturbative results in the 't Hooft coupling $\lambda$ for the defect one-point functions of both BPS and non-BPS operators, building upon recent progress in localization and integrability methods. For BPS operator insertions in the SYM with D5-brane type boundary or interface, we derive an effective two dimensional defect-Yang-Mills (dYM) theory from supersymmetric localization, which gives an efficient way to extract defect observables and generates a novel matrix model for the defect one-point function. By solving the matrix model in the large $N$ limit, we obtain exact results in $\lambda$ which interpolate between perturbative Feynman diagram contributions in the weak coupling limit and IIB string theory predictions on $AdS_5\times S^5$ in the strong coupling regime, providing a precision test of AdS/CFT with interface defects. For general non-BPS operators, we develop a non-perturbative bootstrap-type program for integrable boundary states on the worldsheet of the IIB string theory, corresponding to the interface defects in the planar SYM. Such integrable boundary states are constrained by a set of general consistency conditions for which we present explicit solutions that reproduce and extend the known results at weak coupling from integrable spin-chain methods., Comment: 66 pages, no appendices: v2 typos fixed, references added: v3 version to be published

The g-function is a measure of degrees of freedom associated to a boundary of two-dimensional quantum field theories. In integrable theories, it can be computed exactly in a form of the Fredholm determinant, but it is often hard to evaluate numerically. In this paper, we derive functional equations---or equivalently integral equations of the thermodynamic Bethe ansatz (TBA) type---which directly compute the g-function in the simplest integrable theory; the sinh-Gordon theory at the self-dual point. The derivation is based on the classic result by Tracy and Widom on the relation between Fredholm determinants and TBA, which was used also in the context of topological string. We demonstrate the efficiency of our formulation through the numerical computation and compare the results in the UV limit with the Liouville CFT. As a side result, we present multiple integrals of Q-functions which we conjecture to describe a universal part of the g-function, and discuss its implication to integrable spin chains., Comment: 27 pages + appendices; v2 typos corrected

BPS Wilson loops in supersymmetric gauge theories have been the subjects of active research since they are often amenable to exact computation. So far most of the studies have focused on loops that do not intersect. In this paper, we derive exact results for intersecting 1/8 BPS Wilson loops in N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory, using a combination of supersymmetric localization and the loop equation in 2d gauge theory. The result is given by a novel matrix-model-like representation which couples multiple contour integrals and a Gaussian matrix model. We evaluate the integral at large N, and make contact with the string worldsheet description at strong coupling. As an application of our results, we compute exactly a small-angle limit (and more generally near-BPS limits) of the cross anomalous dimension which governs the UV divergence of intersecting Wilson lines. The same quantity describes the soft anomalous dimension of scattering amplitudes of W-bosons in the Coulomb branch., Comment: 45 pages; v2 references added

This is a write-up of the lectures given in Young Researchers Integrability School 2017. The main goal is to explain the connection between the ODE/IM correspondence and the classical integrability of strings in AdS. As a warm up, we first discuss the classical three-point function of the Liouville theory. The starting point is the well-known fact that the classical solutions to the Liouville equation can be constructed by solving a Schrodinger-like differential equation. We then convert it into a set of functional equations using a method similar to the ODE/IM correspondence. The classical three-point functions can be computed directly from these functional equations, and the result matches with the classical limit of the celebrated DOZZ formula. We then discuss the semi-classical three-point function of strings in AdS2 and show that one can apply a similar idea by making use of the classical integrability of the string sigma model on AdS2. The result is given in terms of the "massive" generalization of Gamma functions, which show up also in string theory on pp-wave backgrounds and the twistorial generalization of topological string., Comment: 26 pages. Based on lectures given in Young Researchers Integrability School; To appear in a special issue in JPhysA

We introduce a nonperturbative approach to correlation functions of two determinant operators and one non-protected single-trace operator in planar N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory. Based on the gauge/string duality, we propose that they correspond to overlaps on the string worldsheet between an integrable boundary state and a state dual to the single-trace operator. We determine the boundary state using symmetry and integrability of the dual superstring sigma model, and write down expressions for the correlators at finite coupling, which we conjecture to be valid for operators of arbitrary size. The proposal is put to test at weak coupling., Comment: 6 pages. A letter version of arXiv:1906.07733 with new results; v2 typos corrected, references added

The existence of higher-spin quantum conserved currents in two dimensions guarantees quantum integrability. We revisit the question of whether classically-conserved local higher-spin currents in two-dimensional sigma models survive quantization. We define an integrability index $\mathcal{I}(J)$ for each spin $J$, with the property that $\mathcal{I}(J)$ is a lower bound on the number of quantum conserved currents of spin $J$. In particular, a positive value for the index establishes the existence of quantum conserved currents. For a general coset model, with or without extra discrete symmetries, we derive an explicit formula for a generating function that encodes the indices for all spins. We apply our techniques to the $\mathbb{CP}^{N-1}$ model, the $O(N)$ model, and the flag sigma model $\frac{U(N)}{U(1)^{N}}$. For the $O(N)$ model, we establish the existence of a spin-6 quantum conserved current, in addition to the well-known spin-4 current. The indices for the $\mathbb{CP}^{N-1}$ model for $N>2$ are all non-positive, consistent with the fact that these models are not integrable. The indices for the flag sigma model $\frac{U(N)}{U(1)^{N}}$ for $N>2$ are all negative. Thus, it is unlikely that the flag sigma models are integrable., Comment: 24 pages, 2 tables

We develop a novel nonperturbative approach to a class of three-point functions in planar $\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM based on Thermodynamic Bethe Ansatz (TBA). More specifically, we study three-point functions of a non-BPS single-trace operator and two determinant operators dual to maximal Giant Graviton D-branes in AdS$_5\times$S$^{5}$. They correspond to disk one-point functions on the worldsheet and admit a simpler and more powerful integrability description than the standard single-trace three-point functions. We first introduce two new methods to efficiently compute such correlators at weak coupling; one based on large $N$ collective fields, which provides an example of open-closed-open duality discussed by Gopakumar, and the other based on combinatorics. The results so obtained exhibit a simple determinant structure and indicate that the correlator can be interpreted as a generalization of $g$-functions in 2d QFT; an overlap between an integrable boundary state and a state corresponding to the single-trace operator. We then determine the boundary state at finite coupling using the symmetry, the crossing equation and the boundary Yang-Baxter equation. With the resulting boundary state, we derive the ground-state $g$-function based on TBA and conjecture its generalization to other states. This is the first fully nonperturbative proposal for the structure constants of operators of finite length. The results are tested extensively at weak and strong couplings. Finally, we point out that determinant operators can provide better probes of sub-AdS locality than single-trace operators and discuss possible applications., Comment: 224 pages; v3 new results, appendices, and references added

We compute correlation functions of protected primaries on the $1/2$-BPS Wilson loop in ${\cal N}$ = 4 super Yang-Mills theory at weak coupling. We first perform direct perturbative computation at one loop in the planar limit and present explicit formulae for general two-, three- and four-point functions. The results for two- and three-point functions as well as four-point functions in special kinematics are in perfect agreement with the localization computation performed in arXiv:1802.05201. We then analyze the results in view of the integrability-based approach called "hexagonalization", which was introduced previously to study the correlation functions in the absence of the Wilson loop. In this approach, one decomposes the correlator into fundamental building blocks called "hexagons", and glues them back together by summing over the intermediate states. Through the comparison, we conjecture that the correlation functions on the Wilson loop can be computed by contracting hexagons with boundary states, where each boundary state represents a segment of the Wilson loop. As a byproduct, we make predictions for the large-charge asymptotics of the structure constants on the Wilson loop. Along the way, we refine the conjecture for the integrability-based approach to the general non-BPS structure constants on the Wilson loop, proposed originally in arXiv:1706.02989., Comment: v3 Typos corrected

We perform exact computations of correlation functions of 1/2-BPS local operators and protected operator insertions on the 1/8-BPS Wilson loop in $\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM. This generalizes the results of our previous paper arXiv:1802.05201, which employs supersymmetric localization, OPE and the Gram-Schmidt process. In particular, we conduct a detailed analysis for the 1/2-BPS circular (or straight) Wilson loop in the planar limit, which defines an interesting nontrivial defect CFT. We compute its bulk-defect structure constants at finite 't Hooft coupling, and present simple integral expressions in terms of the $Q$-functions that appear in the Quantum Spectral Curve---a formalism originally introduced for the computation of the operator spectrum. The results at strong coupling are found to be in precise agreement with the holographic calculation based on perturbation theory around the AdS$_2$ string worldsheet, where they correspond to correlation functions of open string fluctuations and closed string vertex operators inserted on the worldsheet. Along the way, we clarify several aspects of the Gram-Schmidt analysis which were not addressed in the previous paper. In particular, we clarify the role played by the multi-trace operators at the non-planar level, and confirm its importance by computing the non-planar correction to the defect two-point function. We also provide a formula for the first non-planar correction to the defect correlators in terms of the Quantum Spectral Curve, which suggests the potential applicability of the formalism to the non-planar correlation functions., Comment: 44 pages + appendices. v2 references added

We study the $O(N)$ and Gross-Neveu models at large $N$ on AdS$_{d+1}$ background. Thanks to the isometries of AdS, the observables in these theories are constrained by the SO$(d,2)$ conformal group even in the presence of mass deformations, as was discussed by Callan and Wilczek, and provide an interesting two-parameter family of quantities which interpolate between the S-matrices in flat space and the correlators in CFT with a boundary. For the actual computation, we judiciously use the spectral representation to resum loop diagrams in the bulk. After the resummation, the AdS $4$-particle scattering amplitude is given in terms of a single unknown function of the spectral parameter. We then "bootstrap" the unknown function by requiring the absence of double-trace operators in the boundary OPE. Our results are at leading nontrivial order in $\frac{1}{N}$, and include the full dependence on the quartic coupling, the mass parameters, and the AdS radius. In the bosonic $O(N)$ model we study both the massive phase and the symmetry-breaking phase, which exists even in AdS$_2$ evading Coleman's theorem, and identify the AdS analogue of a resonance in flat space. We then propose that symmetry breaking in AdS implies the existence of a conformal manifold in the boundary conformal theory. We also provide evidence for the existence of a critical point with bulk conformal symmetry, matching existing results and finding new ones for the conformal boundary conditions of the critical theories. For the Gross-Neveu model we find a bound state, which interpolates between the familiar bound state in flat space and the displacement operator at the critical point., Comment: 70 pages + appendices, 13 figures; v3: minor corrections

In a previous work, we proposed an integrability setup for computing non-planar corrections to correlation functions in $\mathcal{N}=4$ super Yang-Mills theory at any value of the coupling constant. The procedure consists of drawing all possible tree-level graphs on a Riemann surface of given genus, completing each graph to a triangulation, inserting a hexagon form factor into each face, and summing over a complete set of states on each edge of the triangulation. The summation over graphs can be interpreted as a quantization of the string moduli space integration. The quantization requires a careful treatment of the moduli space boundaries, which is realized by subtracting degenerate Riemann surfaces; this procedure is called stratification. In this work, we precisely formulate our proposal and perform several perturbative checks. These checks require hitherto unknown multi-particle mirror contributions at one loop, which we also compute., Comment: 99 pages, 261 figures, comments welcome; v2: minor improvements, updated references (published version)

We compute a set of correlation functions of operator insertions on the 1/8 BPS Wilson loop in $\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM by employing supersymmetric localization, OPE and the Gram-Schmidt orthogonalization. These correlators exhibit a simple determinant structure, are position-independent and form a topological subsector, but depend nontrivially on the 't Hooft coupling and the rank of the gauge group. When applied to the 1/2 BPS circular (or straight) Wilson loop, our results provide an infinite family of exact defect CFT data, including the structure constants of protected defect primaries of arbitrary length inserted on the loop. At strong coupling, we show precise agreement with a direct calculation using perturbation theory around the AdS$_2$ string worldsheet. We also explain the connection of our results to the "generalized Bremsstrahlung functions" previously computed from integrability techniques, reproducing the known results in the planar limit as well as obtaining some of their finite N generalizations. Furthermore, we show that the correlators at large N can be recast as simple integrals of products of polynomials (known as Q-functions) that appear in the Quantum Spectral Curve approach. This suggests an interesting interplay between localization, defect CFT and integrability., Comment: 43+4 pages; v2 References added. Minor corrections. Explanation in section 4.2 expanded; v3 Corrected statements about nonplanar corrections

In this work, we compute one-loop planar five-point functions in $\mathcal{N}$=4 super-Yang-Mills using integrability. As in the previous work, we decompose the correlation functions into hexagon form factors and glue them using the weight factors which depend on the cross ratios. The main new ingredient in the computation, as compared to the four-point functions studied in the previous paper, is the two-particle mirror contribution. We develop techniques to evaluate it and find agreement with the perturbative results in all the cases we analyzed. In addition, we consider next-to-extremal four-point functions, which are known to be protected, and show that the sum of one-particle and two-particle contributions at one loop adds up to zero as expected. The tools developed in this work would be useful for computing higher-particle contributions which would be relevant for more complicated quantities such as higher-loop corrections and non-planar correlators., Comment: 36 pages

We propose an integrability setup for the computation of correlation functions of gauge-invariant operators in $\mathcal{N}=4$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory at higher orders in the large $N_{\text{c}}$ genus expansion and at any order in the 't Hooft coupling $g_{\text{YM}}^2N_{\text{c}}$. In this multi-step proposal, one polygonizes the string worldsheet in all possible ways, hexagonalizes all resulting polygons, and sprinkles mirror particles over all hexagon junctions to obtain the full correlator. We test our integrability-based conjecture against a non-planar four-point correlator of large half-BPS operators at one and two loops., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures; v2: updated references, typos, minor improvements (published version)

We study three-point functions of operators on the $1/2$ BPS Wilson loop in planar $\mathcal{N}=4$ super Yang-Mills theory. The operators we consider are "defect changing operators", which change the scalar coupled to the Wilson loop. We first perform the computation at two loops in general set-ups, and then study a special scaling limit called the ladders limit, in which the spectrum is known to be described by a quantum mechanics with the SL(2,$\mathbb{R}$) symmetry. In this limit, we resum the Feynman diagrams using the Schwinger-Dyson equation and determine the structure constants at all order in the rescaled coupling constant. Besides providing an interesting solvable example of defect conformal field theories, our result gives invaluable data for the integrability-based approach to the structure constants., Comment: 31 pages + appendices; v2 References added

This is a pedagogical review on the integrability-based approach to the three-point function in N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory. We first discuss the computation of the structure constant at weak coupling and show that the result can be recast as a sum over partitions of the rapidities of the magnons. We then introduce a non-perturbative framework, called the "hexagon approach", and explain how one can use the symmetries (i.e. superconformal and gauge symmetries) and integrability to determine the structure constants. This article is based on the lectures given in Les Houches Summer School "Integrability: From statistical systems to gauge theory" in June 2016., Comment: 58 pages. v2 An appendix added. Typos corrected. References added

We consider structure constants of single trace operators in planar $\mathcal{N}$ = 4 Super-Yang-Mills theory within the hexagon framework. The standard procedure for forming a three point function out of two hexagons develops divergences when the effects of virtual particles wrapping around the operators are taken into account. In this paper, we explain how to renormalize these divergences away and obtain definite predictions, at the leading wrapping order, for some of the structure constants that parameterize the OPE of two chiral primaries. We test our method at weak coupling against the four loop planar correction to the BPS-BPS-Konishi OPE coefficient, derived recently in the field theory. At strong coupling, we compare our expressions with the structure constants obtained in string theory for three semiclassical strings., Comment: 69 pages

We initiate the study of four-point functions of large BPS operators at any value of the coupling. We do it by casting it as a sum over exchange of superconformal primaries and computing the structure constants using integrability. Along the way, we incorporate the nested Bethe ansatz structure to the hexagon formalism for the three-point functions and obtain a compact formula for the asymptotic structure constant of a non-BPS operator in a higher rank sector., Comment: 18 pages + appendices, 13 figures, 2 tables, 1 Mathematica notebook attached; v2 minor typo corrections and references added

We propose a nonperturbative framework to study general correlation functions of single-trace operators in $\mathcal{N}=4$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory at large $N$. The basic strategy is to decompose them into fundamental building blocks called the hexagon form factors, which were introduced earlier to study structure constants using integrability. The decomposition is akin to a triangulation of a Riemann surface, and we thus call it hexagonalization. We propose a set of rules to glue the hexagons together based on symmetry, which naturally incorporate the dependence on the conformal and the R-symmetry cross ratios. Our method is conceptually different from the conventional operator product expansion and automatically takes into account multi-trace operators exchanged in OPE channels. To illustrate the idea in simple set-ups, we compute four-point functions of BPS operators of arbitrary lengths and correlation functions of one Konishi operator and three short BPS operators, all at one loop. In all cases, the results are in perfect agreement with the perturbative data. We also suggest that our method can be a useful tool to study conformal integrals, and show it explicitly for the case of ladder integrals., Comment: 46 pages, v2: typos corrected, v3: a version to be published

We develop analytical methods for computing the structure constant for three heavy operators, starting from the recently proposed hexagon approach. Such a structure constant is a semiclassical object, with the scale set by the inverse length of the operators playing the role of the Planck constant. We reformulate the hexagon expansion in terms of multiple contour integrals and recast it as a sum over clusters generated by the residues of the measure of integration. We test the method on two examples. First, we compute the asymptotic three-point function of heavy fields at any coupling and show the result in the semiclassical limit matches both the string theory computation at strong coupling and the tree-level results obtained before. Second, in the case of one non-BPS and two BPS operators at strong coupling we sum up all wrapping corrections associated with the opposite bridge to the non-trivial operator, or the "bottom" mirror channel. We also give an alternative interpretation of the results in terms of a gas of fermions and show that they can be expressed compactly as an operator-valued super-determinant., Comment: 52 pages + a few appendices; v2 typos corrected

In this paper, we develop a new method of computing three-point functions in the SU(2) sector of the $\mathcal{N}=4$ super Yang-Mills theory in the semi-classical regime at weak coupling, which closely parallels the strong coupling analysis. The structure threading two disparate regimes is the so-called monodromy relation, an identity connecting the three-point functions with and without the insertion of the monodromy matrix. We shall show that this relation can be put to use directly for the semi-classical regime, where the dynamics is governed by the classical Landau-Lifshitz sigma model. Specifically, it reduces the problem to a set of functional equations, which can be solved once the analyticity in the spectral parameter space is specified. To determine the analyticity, we develop a new universal logic applicable at both weak and strong couplings. As a result, compact semi-classical formulas are obtained for a general class of three-point functions at weak coupling including the ones whose semi-classical behaviors were not known before. In addition, the new analyticity argument applied to the strong coupling analysis leads to a modification of the integration contour, producing the results consistent with the recent hexagon bootstrap approach. This modification also makes the Frolov-Tseytlin limit perfectly agree with the weak coupling form., Comment: 62+17 pages, 17 figures; Published ver. Typos corrected

We perform extensive three-loop tests of the hexagon bootstrap approach for structure constants in planar $\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM theory. We focus on correlators involving two BPS operators and one non-BPS operator in the so-called $SL(2)$ sector. At three loops, such correlators receive wrapping corrections from mirror excitations flowing in either the adjacent or the opposing channel. Amusingly, we find that the first type of correction coincides exactly with the leading wrapping correction for the spectrum (divided by the one-loop anomalous dimension). We develop an efficient method for computing the second type of correction for operators with any spin. The results are in perfect agreement with the recently obtained three-loop perturbative data by Chicherin, Drummond, Heslop, Sokatchev [2] and by Eden [3]. We also derive the integrand for general multi-particle wrapping corrections, which turns out to take a remarkably simple form. As an application we estimate the loop order at which various new physical effects are expected to kick-in., Comment: 24 pages, 7 figures

We derive an integral expression for the leading-order type I-I-I three-point functions in the $\mathfrak{su}(2) $-sector of $\mathcal{N}=4$ super Yang-Mills theory, for which no determinant formula is known. To this end, we first map the problem to the partition function of the six vertex model with a hexagonal boundary. The advantage of the six-vertex model expression is that it reveals an extra symmetry of the problem, which is the invariance under 90$^{\circ}$ rotation. On the spin-chain side, this corresponds to the exchange of the quantum space and the auxiliary space and is reminiscent of the mirror transformation employed in the worldsheet S-matrix approaches. After the rotation, we then apply Sklyanin's separation of variables (SoV) and obtain a multiple-integral expression of the three-point function. The resulting integrand is expressed in terms of the so-called Baxter polynomials, which is closely related to the quantum spectral curve approach. Along the way, we also derive several new results about the SoV, such as the explicit construction of the basis with twisted boundary conditions and the overlap between the orginal SoV state and the SoV states on the subchains., Comment: 37 pages, 10 figures

As a step toward uncovering the relation between the weak and the strong coupling regimes of the $\mathcal{N}=4$ super Yang-Mills theory beyond the specral level, we have developed in a previous paper [arXiv:1410.8533] a novel group theoretic interpretation of the Wick contraction of the fields, which allowed us to compute a much more general class of three-point functions in the SU(2) sector, as in the case of strong coupling [arXiv:1312.3727], directly in terms of the determinant representation of the partial domain wall partition funciton. Furthermore, we derived a non-trivial identity for the three point functions with monodromy operators inserted, being the discrete counterpart of the global monodromy condition which played such a crucial role in the computation at strong coupling. In this companion paper, we shall extend our study to the entire ${\rm psu}(2,2|4)$ sector and obtain several important generalizations. They include in particular (i) the manifestly conformally covariant construction, from the basic principle, of the singlet-projection operator for performing the Wick contraction and (ii) the derivation of the monodromy relation for the case of the so-called "harmonic R-matrix", as well as for the usual fundamental R-matrtix. The former case, which is new and has features rather different from the latter, is expected to have important applications. We also describe how the form of the monodromy relation is modified as ${\rm psu}(2,2|4)$ is reduced to its subsectors., Comment: 49+10 pages;v3 Published version. Typos corrected. Explicit form of the monodromy relations for the three-point functions displayed