Search

We unveil the impact of the $\theta$-angle on the QCD phase diagram at nonzero isospin and strangeness chemical potentials for three light flavors and different quark mass ratios. We establish the phase boundaries as well as the nature of the associated phase transitions. The order parameters and the physical spectrum in the different phases are determined. We further elucidate the physics around $\theta=\pi$ where we discover a novel parity-preserving superfluid phase. Finally, we comment on Dashen's phenomenon in the superfluid phases when varying the number of light flavors., Comment: 35 pages, 11 figures

We develop an effective metric description of 2+1 dimensional black holes describing deviations from the classical Ba\~nados-Teitelboim-Zanelli (BTZ) black hole. The latter is a classical 2+1 dimensional rotating black hole with constant negative curvature. The effective metric is constrained by imposing the black hole symmetries and asymptotic classical behavior. The deformed metric is parametrized in terms of a physical quantity that we choose to be a physical distance. The latter can be solved for in three main regions of interest, the one around the horizon, origin, and spatial infinity. The finiteness of physical quantities at the horizon, such as the Ricci and Kretschmann scalars, leads to universal constraints on the physical parameters of the metric around the horizon. This allows us to further derive the general form of the corrected Hawking temperature in terms of the physical parameters of the effective metric. Assuming that the approach can be generalized to the interior of the black hole, we further develop an effective metric description near the origin. To illustrate the approach, we show how to recast the information encoded in a specific model of quantum BTZ known as quBTZ black hole in terms of the effective metric coefficients.

In previous work we have developed a model-independent, effective description of quantum deformed, spherically symmetric and static black holes in four dimensions. The deformations of the metric are captured by two functions of the physical distance to the horizon, which are provided in the form of self-consistent Taylor series expansions. While this approach efficiently captures physical observables in the immediate vicinity of the horizon, it is expected to encounter problems of convergence at further distances. Therefore, we demonstrate in this paper how to use Pad\'e approximants to extend the range of applicability of this framework. We provide explicit approximations of physical observables that depend on finitely many effective parameters of the deformed black hole geometry, depending on the order of the Pad\'e approximant. By taking the asymptotic limit of this order, we in particular provide a closed-form expression for the black hole shadow of the (fully) deformed geometry, which captures the leading quantum corrections. We illustrate our results for a number of quantum black holes previously proposed in the literature and find that our effective approach provides excellent approximations in all cases., Comment: 21 pages, 14 figures

We show that the epidemiological Renormalization Group (eRG) framework is a useful and minimal tool to effectively describe the temporal evolution of the Dengue multi-wave pandemics. We test the framework on the Dengue history of several countries located in both Latin America and Asia. We also observe a strong correlation between the total number of infected individuals and the changes in the local temperature. Our results further support the expectation that global warming is bound to increase the cases of Dengue worldwide. We then move to investigate, via the eRG, the recent outbreak in Fano, Italy and offer our projections.

We determine the scaling dimension $\Delta_n$ for the class of composite operators $\phi^n$ in the $\lambda \phi^4$ theory in $d=4-\epsilon$ taking the double scaling limit $n\rightarrow \infty$ and $\lambda \rightarrow 0$ with fixed $\lambda n$ via a semiclassical approach. Our results resum the leading power of $n$ at any loop order. In the small $\lambda n$ regime we reproduce the known diagrammatic results and predict the infinite series of higher-order terms. For intermediate values of $\lambda n$ we find that $\Delta_n/n$ increases monotonically approaching a $(\lambda n)^{1/3}$ behavior in the $\lambda n \to \infty$ limit. We further generalize our results to neutral operators in the $\phi^4$ in $d=4-\epsilon$, $\phi^3$ in $d=6-\epsilon$, and $\phi^6$ in $d=3-\epsilon$ theories with $O(N)$ symmetry., Comment: We extended our analysis to O(N) theories in various spacetime dimensions featuring different interactions

Recent pandemics triggered the development of a number of mathematical models and computational tools apt at curbing the socio-economic impact of these and future pandemics. The need to acquire solid estimates from the data led to the introduction of effective approaches such as the \emph{epidemiological Renormalization Group} (eRG). A recognized relevant factor impacting the evolution of pandemics is the feedback stemming from individuals' choices. The latter can be taken into account via the \textit{information index} which accommodates the information--induced perception regarding the status of the disease and the memory of past spread. We, therefore, show how to augment the eRG by means of the information index. We first develop the {\it behavioural} version of the eRG and then test it against the US vaccination campaign for COVID-19. We find that the behavioural augmented eRG improves the description of the pandemic dynamics of the US divisions for which the epidemic peak occurs after the start of the vaccination campaign. Our results strengthen the relevance of taking into account the human behaviour component when modelling pandemic evolution. To inform public health policies, the model can be readily employed to investigate the socio-epidemiological dynamics, including vaccination campaigns, for other regions of the world., Comment: 19 pages, 4 figures

We investigate high and low energy implications of a gauge dual description of the Standard Model. The high energy electric theory features gauge dynamics involving only fermionic matter fields, while the low energy magnetic description features a quasi-supersymmetric spectrum testable at colliders. The flavour theory is constructed via operators generated at the Planck scale. We further show that duality opens novel avenues for theories of grand unification., Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure

Upon introducing an heavy quark in the perturbative regime of the QCD conformal window we precisely determine the associated heavy meson spectrum and wave functions in terms of the number of light flavours and mass. We then compute the conformal Isgur-Wise function which is a central quantity in heavy quark physics. We further determine the impact of the residual low energy confining dynamics on the heavy meson spectrum. As a working framework, we adapt the heavy quark effective theory to the perturbative conformal window dynamics. Our work lays the foundations to systematically go beyond the infinite mass defect approximation in conformal field theories., Comment: LaTeX, 28 pages, several figures

We show that it is possible to observe the Hawking radiation emitted by small black holes assumed to form in catastrophic astrophysical events such as black hole mergers. Gamma ray bursts in the TeV range are unique footprints of these asteroid-mass black hole morsels ejected during the merger. The time delay of the gamma ray bursts from the gravitational wave event is correlated to the mass distribution of the morsels. The integrated mass of the morsels allowed by the unaccounted merger mass leads to a Hawking induced radiation in photons that is above the sensitivity of atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes such as HESS, LHAASO and HAWC., Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures

We re-consider recent measures of $R_{K}$ and $R_{K^*}$, now compatible with the Standard Model expectations, as well as the results for the process $\text{BR}(B_s \rightarrow \mu^+ \mu^-)$ alongside earlier determinations of $R_{D^{(\ast)}}$ and $\text{BR}(B_c \rightarrow \tau \nu)$. We provide analytic constraints on the associated Wilson coefficients in both the $b \to s$ and the $b \to c$ sectors. These allow us to estimate the scale of potential New Physics for generic extensions of the Standard Model. We then use the results to constrain the leptoquark landscape., Comment: 39 pages, 5 figures

In a recent work [arXiv:2307.13489 [gr-qc]], we have described spherically symmetric and static quantum black holes as deformations of the classical Schwarzschild metric that depend on the physical distance to the horizon. We have developed a framework that allows to compute the latter in a self-consistent fashion from the deformed geometry, in the vicinity of the horizon. However, in this formalism, the distance can be replaced by other physical quantities, e.g. curvature invariants such as the Ricci- or Kretschmann scalar. Here, we therefore define a more general framework, which we call an "effective metric description" (EMD), that captures the deformed geometry based on a generic physical quantity. We develop in detail the Ricci- and Kretschmann scalar EMD, in particular demonstrating how to compute the geometry in a self-consistent manner. Moreover, we provide explicit relations that allow to express one EMD in terms of the others, thus demonstrating their equivalence., Comment: 24 pages, 4 figures

Epidemiological models describe the spread of an infectious disease within a population. They capture microscopic details on how the disease is passed on among individuals in various different ways, while making predictions about the state of the entirety of the population. However, the type and structure of the specific model considered typically depend on the size of the population under consideration. To analyse this effect, we study a family of effective epidemiological models in space and time that are related to each other through scaling transformations. Inspired by a similar treatment of diffusion processes, we interpret the latter as renormalisation group transformations, both at the level of the underlying differential equations and their solutions. We show that in the large scale limit, the microscopic details of the infection process become irrelevant, safe for a simple real number, which plays the role of the infection rate in a basic compartmental model., Comment: 36 pages, 19 figures

We reformulate models in epidemiology and population dynamics in terms of probability distributions. This allows us to construct the Fisher information, which we interpret as the metric of a one-dimensional differentiable manifold. For systems that can be effectively described by a single degree of freedom, we show that their time evolution is fully captured by this metric. In this way, we discover universal features across seemingly very different models. This further motivates a reorganisation of the dynamics around zeroes of the Fisher metric, corresponding to extrema of the probability distribution. Concretely, we propose a simple form of the metric for which we can analytically solve the dynamics of the system that well approximates the time evolution of various established models in epidemiology and population dynamics, thus providing a unifying framework., Comment: 33 pages, 17 figures

I review and improve on how two-index SU(N) gauge-fermion theories help access salient information about the large $N$ vacuum and spectrum of QCD, super Yang Mills and meson-meson scattering. The interplay with recent lattice simulations will be employed to deduce the size of $1/N^2$ corrections. Through the meson-meson scattering analysis I will honor Steven Weinberg's memory by showing how two-index extrapolations naturally accommodate the appearance of tetraquarks states crucial to unitarize meson-meson scattering at low energies., Comment: Typos corrected, version to match the one accepted for publication in Nuclear Physics B

We determine anomalous dimensions of a family of fixed hypercharge operators in the Standard Model featuring the general Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa structure. The results are obtained at infinite orders in the couplings and to leading and subleading orders in the charge. The computed anomalous dimensions are shown to agree with the maximum known order in perturbation theory. We further show that the large hypercharge sector of the Standard Model is characterised by a non-Abelian vector condensation phase., Comment: 27 pages in LaTeX

We systematically analyze the impact of dilatonic dynamics on Skyrme spheres, crystals and branes. The effects of the dilatonic model parameters, encompassing different underlying near-conformal dynamics, on the macroscopic properties of Skyrmions such as their mass and radius, are discussed. For spheres and crystals we identify special values of the ratio of the decay constants for which the second order differential equations reduce to a solvable first order system. Additionally, in the case of the crystals, the dilaton presence spatially separates the baryon and isospin charge distributions. For branes, we show how the dilaton smooths out their configurations. Our results are expected to have wide implications from the study of near-conformal dynamics stemming from QCD-like theories to phenomenological investigations of nuclear matter in extreme regimes., Comment: 35 pages, 19 figures

We study under which conditions a first-order phase transition in a composite dark sector can yield an observable stochastic gravitational-wave signal. To this end, we employ the Linear-Sigma model featuring $N_f=3,4,5$ flavours and perform a Cornwall-Jackiw-Tomboulis computation also accounting for the effects of the Polyakov loop. The model allows us to investigate the chiral phase transition in regimes that can mimic QCD-like theories incorporating in addition composite dynamics associated with the effects of confinement-deconfinement phase transition. A further benefit of this approach is that it allows to study the limit in which the effective interactions are weak. We show that strong first-order phase transitions occur for weak effective couplings of the composite sector leading to gravitational-wave signals potentially detectable at future experimental facilities., Comment: 19 pages, 8 figures

We systematically compute the $\Lambda_b(p, s_b) \to \Lambda_c(2595)^+$ and $\Lambda_b(p, s_b) \to \Lambda_c(2625)^+$ form factors within the Heavy Quark Effective Theory (HQET) framework including $\mathcal{O}(1/m_c^2)$. Besides taking into account the Standard Model-like vector and axial contributions, we further determine tensor and pseudo-tensor form factors. Our work constitutes a step forward with respect to previous analyses allowing for a comprehensive study of the matrix element parametrisation stemming from the HQET formalism. Finally, we demonstrate that the resulting form factors agree well with lattice Quantum Chromodynamics (LQCD) determinations stressing the need and relevance of the newly derived $1/m_c^2$ corrections., Comment: Revised version with typos corrected. 66 pages, one figure with 10 subfigures

We provide an example of an ultraviolet finite supersymmetric grand unified theory of safe rather than free nature endowed with a supersymmetric dynamical breaking mechanism. Our results simultaneously enlarge the number of ultraviolet consistent supersymmetric grand unified theories while providing a relevant example of how to achieve a consistent ultraviolet safe extension of the Standard Model enjoying the benefits of grand unified theories., Comment: 9 pages, 1 figure

Quantum gravity theories predict deformations of black hole solutions relative to their classical counterparts. A model-independent approach was advocated in \cite{Binetti:2022xdi} that uses metric deformations parametrised in terms of physical quantities, such as the proper distance. While such a description manifestly preserves the invariance of the space-time under coordinate transformations, concrete computations are hard to tackle since the distance is defined in terms of the deformed metric itself. In this work, for spherically symmetric and static metrics, we provide a self-consistent framework allowing us to compute the distance function in close vicinity to the event horizon of a black hole. By assuming a minimal degree of regularity at the horizon, we provide explicit (series) expansions of the metric. This allows us to compute important thermodynamical quantities of the black hole, such as the Hawking temperature and entropy, for which we provide model-independent expressions, beyond a large mass expansion. Moreover, imposing for example the absence of curvature singularities at the event horizon leads to non-trivial consistency conditions for the metric deformations themselves, which we find to be violated by some models in the literature., Comment: 49 pages, 9 figures

We compute the spectrum of the low-lying mesonic states with vector, scalar and pseudoscalar quantum numbers in QCD with one flavour. With three colours the fundamental and the two-index anti-symmetric representations of the gauge group coincide. The latter is an orientifold theory that maps into the bosonic sector of $\mathcal{N} = 1$ super Yang-Mills theory in the large number of colours limit. We employ Wilson fermions along with tree-level improvement in the gluonic and fermionic parts of the action. In this setup the Dirac operator can develop real negative eigenvalues. We therefore perform a detailed study in order to identify configurations where the fermion determinant is negative and eventually reweight them. We finally compare results with effective field theory predictions valid in the large $N_C$ limit and find reasonably consistent values despite $N_C$ being only three. Additionally,the spin-one sector provides a novel window for supersymmetric dynamics., Comment: Version accepted and published by PRD (Phys. Rev. D 107, 114506)

Phase transitions in a non-perturbative regime can be studied by ab initio Lattice Field Theory methods. The status and future research directions for LFT investigations of Quantum Chromo-Dynamics under extreme conditions are reviewed, including properties of hadrons and of the hypothesized QCD axion as inferred from QCD topology in different phases. We discuss phase transitions in strong interactions in an extended parameter space, and the possibility of model building for Dark Matter and Electro-Weak Symmetry Breaking. Methodological challenges are addressed as well, including new developments in Artificial Intelligence geared towards the identification of different phases and transitions., Comment: 94 pages, 23 figures, GGI workshop "Phase Transitions in Particle Physics" review - v2: minor revisions and typo corrected, matches accepted version on PPNP

We use one-flavour QCD ($N_c=3$) as a proxy to understand $\mathcal{N}=1$ SYM. For our simulations, we use tree-level improved Wilson fermions and Symanzik improved gauge action. The hadron spectrum is obtained by using LapH smearing for different masses and simulation volumes. We also report on our efforts to increase the number of colours in our simulations, where we find that the simulations show increasing topological freezing for larger $N_c$., Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, Proceedings of the 39th International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory, 8th-13th August 2022, Bonn, Germany

The Standard Model of Particle Physics and its description of Nature have been recently challenged by a series of precision measurements performed via different accelerator machines. Statistically significant anomalies emerged in the heavy meson physics sector, when measuring the muon magnetic momentum, and very recently when deducing the mass of the W boson. Here we consider a radiative extension of the Standard Model devised to be sufficiently versatile to reconcile the various experimental results while further predicting the existence of new bosons and fermions with a mass spectrum in the TeV energy scale. The resulting spectrum is, therefore, within the energy reach of the proton-proton collisions at the LHC experiments at CERN. The model investigated here allows to interpolate between composite and elementary extensions of the Standard Model with emphasis on a new modified Yukawa sector that is needed to accommodate the anomalies. Focusing on the radiative regime of the model, we introduce interesting search channels of immediate impact for the ATLAS and CMS experimental programs such as the associate production of Standard Model particles with either invisible or long-lived particles. We further show how to adapt earlier SUSY-motivated searchers of new physics to constrain the spectrum and couplings of the new scalars and fermions. Overall, the new physics template simultaneously accounts for the bulk of the observed experimental anomalies while suggesting a wide spectrum of experimental signatures relevant for the current LHC experiments., Comment: 38 pages, 60 figures, 4 tables

We analyze the impact of the $\theta$-angle and axion dynamics for two-color (in fact any $Sp(2N)$) QCD at nonzero baryon charge and as a function of the number of matter fields on the vacuum properties, the pattern of chiral symmetry breaking as well as the spectrum of the theory. We show that the vacuum acquires a rich structure when the underlying $CP$ violating topological operator is added to the theory. We discover novel phases and analyse the order of their transitions characterizing the dynamics of the odd and even number of flavours. We further determine the critical chemical potential as function of the $\theta$ angle separating the normal from the superfluid phase of the theory. Our results will guide numerical simulations and novel tests of the model's dynamics. The results are also expected to better inform phenomenological applications of the model ranging from composite Higgs physics to strongly interacting massive dark matter models featuring number changing interactions. In the companion work \cite{PartII} we repurpose and upgrade the approach to determine the impact of the $\theta$-angle and axion physics on non-perturbative near conformal dynamics related to the fixed baryon charge sector., Comment: LaTeX 29 pages, 11 figures

We determine the impact of the $\theta$-angle and axion physics on the near conformal dynamics of the large-charge baryon sector of $SU(2)$ gauge theories with $N_f$ fermions in the fundamental representation. We employ an effective approach featuring Goldstone and dilaton degrees of freedom augmented by the topological terms in the theory. We investigate how different dilaton potentials, including the ones for which a systematic counting scheme can be established, affect the results. Via state-operator correspondence we compute the corrections to the would-be conformal dimensions of the lowest large-charge operators as a function of the $\theta$ term and dilaton potential., Comment: LaTeX 24 pages; v2: added new results related to different dilaton potentials, matches the published version

We consider the implications of the CDF collaboration high-precision measurement of the W boson mass on models with a non-standard Higgs. We show that this requires an enhancement of 3-10% in the non-standard Higgs coupling to the gauge bosons. This is naturally accommodated in dynamical models such as the dilaton Higgs, the Technicolor and glueball Higgs. The needed composite scale between 2 and 3 TeV can also explain the muon g-2 anomaly, as well as possible violations of lepton flavour universality.

We critically analyze the body of results that hints to the existence of New Physics from possible violations of lepton universality observed by the LHCb experiment in the $\mu/e$ ratios $R_{K}$ and $R_{K^*}$ to the $g-2$ lepton anomalies. The analysis begins with a theoretical, in depth, study of the $\mu/e$ ratios $R_{K}$ and $R_{K^*}$ as well as the process $B_s \rightarrow \mu^+ \mu^-$. Here we consider the impact of complex Wilson coefficients and derive constraints on their imaginary and real parts. We then move to a comprehensive comparison with experimental results. We show that, by fitting a single Wilson coefficient, the deviations from the Standard Model are at the $4.7\sigma$ level when including only the hadronic insensitive observables while it increases to $6.1\sigma$ when including also the hadronic sensitive ones. When switching on all relevant Wilson coefficients and combining both hadronic sensitive and insensitive data into the fit, the deviation from the Standard Model peaks at $7.2\sigma$ and decreases at the $4.9\sigma$ level if we assume that the central values of $R_K$ and $R_{K^{\ast}}$ are taken to be unity. We further estimate other unaccounted for SM contributions and show that their inclusion still requires New Physics to fit the data. We then introduce the $g-2$ lepton anomalies as well as the most recent $W$-mass results. Different theoretical models are considered that can explain the discrepancies from the Standard Model. In the final part of our work we estimate the impact of the forthcoming data from LHCb (coming from LHC Run3) and Belle II, when it will have accumulated about $5~ab^{-1}$., Comment: Final version to match the published one. References added, improved world average of the W-mass, long distance effects discussion improved for the hadronic sensitive observables

We explore the quantum nature of black holes by introducing an effective framework that takes into account deviations from the classical results. The approach is based on introducing quantum corrections to the classical Schwarzschild geometry in a way that is consistent with the physical scales of the black hole and its classical symmetries. This is achieved by organizing the quantum corrections in inverse powers of a physical distance. By solving the system in a self-consistent way we show that the derived physical quantities, such as event horizons, temperature and entropy can be expressed in a well defined expansion in the inverse powers of the black hole mass. The approach captures the general form of the quantum corrections to black hole physics without requiring to commit to a specific model of quantum gravity., Comment: Revised version matching the published one

We investigate the analytic properties of the fixed charge expansion for a number of conformal field theories in different space-time dimensions. The models investigated here are $O(N)$ and $QED_3$. We show that in $d=3-\epsilon$ dimensions the contribution to the $O(N)$ fixed charge $Q$ conformal dimensions obtained in the double scaling limit of large charge and vanishing $\epsilon$ is non-Borel summable, doubly factorial divergent, and with order $\sqrt{Q}$ optimal truncation order. By using resurgence techniques we show that the singularities in the Borel plane are related to worldline instantons that were discovered in the other double scaling limit of large $Q$ and $N$ of Ref. [1]. In $d=4-\epsilon$ dimensions the story changes since in the same large $Q$ and small $\epsilon$ regime the next order corrections to the scaling dimensions lead to a convergent series. The resummed series displays a new branch cut singularity which is relevant for the stability of the $O(N)$ large charge sector for negative $\epsilon$. Although the $QED_3$ model shares the same large charge behaviour of the $O(N)$ model, we discover that at leading order in the large number of matter field expansion the large charge scaling dimensions are Borel summable, single factorial divergent, and with order $Q$ optimal truncation order., Comment: 24 pages, 4 figures, 1 table

We numerically study QCD with a single quark flavour on the lattice probing predictions from effective field theories that are equivalent to minimal super-symmetric Yang-Mills theory in the large $N_c$ limit. The hadronic spectrum including excited states is analysed using one gauge coupling and several physical volumes and fermion masses. We use the LapH method and also compute disconnected diagrams. Lattice simulations with an odd number of Wilson fermions give rise to regions of configuration space with a negative fermionic weight entailing a sign problem. We perform a detailed analysis on the spectrum of the Wilson-Dirac operator and report on observed cases of a negative fermion determinant in our ensembles., Comment: 9 pages, 10 figures

We study the gravitational-wave signal stemming from strongly coupled models featuring both, dark chiral and confinement phase transitions. We therefore identify strongly coupled theories that can feature a first-order phase transition. Employing the Polyakov-Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model, we focus our attention on SU(3) Yang-Mills theories featuring fermions in fundamental, adjoint, and two-index symmetric representations. We discover that for the gravitational-wave signals analysis, there are significant differences between the various representations. Interestingly we also observe that the two-index symmetric representation leads to the strongest first-order phase transition and therefore to a higher chance of being detected by the Big Bang Observer experiment. Our study of the confinement and chiral phase transitions is further applicable to extensions of the Standard Model featuring composite dynamics., Comment: 29 pages, 12 figures, 4 tables; v2 matches journal published version

In this paper we analyze the impact of vaccinations on spread of the COVID-19 virus for different age groups. More specifically we examine the deployment of vaccines in the Nordic countries in a comparative analysis where we analyze factors such as healthcare stress level and severity of disease through new infections, hospitalizations, intensive care unit (ICU) occupancy and deaths. Moreover, we analyze the impact of the various vaccine types, vaccination rate on the spread of the virus in each age group for Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden from the start of the vaccination period in December 2020 until the end of August 2021. We perform a three-fold analysis: i) frequency analysis of infections and vaccine rates by age groups, ii) rolling correlations between vaccination strategies, severity of COVID-19 and healthcare stress level and; iii) we also employ the epidemic Renormalization Group (eRG) framework. The latter is used to mathematically model wave structures, as well as the impact of vaccinations on wave dynamics. We further compare the Nordic countries with England. Our main results are the quantification of the impact of the vaccination campaigns on age groups epidemiological data, across countries with high vaccine uptake. The data clearly shows that vaccines markedly reduce the number of new cases and the risk of serious illness., Comment: 22 pages, 12 figures

We study the impact on the epidemiological dynamics of a class of restrictive measures that are aimed at reducing the number of contacts of individuals who have a higher risk of being infected with a transmittable disease. Such measures are currently either implemented or at least discussed in numerous countries worldwide to ward off a potential new wave of COVID-19 across Europe. They come in the form of Health Passes (HP), which grant full access to public life only to individuals with a certificate that proves that they have either been fully vaccinated, have recovered from a previous infection or have recently tested negative to SARS-Cov-19 . We develop both a compartmental model as well as an epidemic Renormalisation Group approach, which is capable of describing the dynamics over a longer period of time, notably an entire epidemiological wave. Introducing different versions of HPs in this model, we are capable of providing quantitative estimates on the effectiveness of the underlying measures as a function of the fraction of the population that is vaccinated and the vaccination rate. We apply our models to the latest COVID-19 wave in several European countries, notably Germany and Austria, which validate our theoretical findings., Comment: 40 pages, 39 figures

The Weak Gravity Conjecture has recently been re-formulated in terms of a particle with non-negative self-binding energy. Because of the dual conformal field theory (CFT) formulation in the anti-de Sitter space the conformal dimension $\Delta (Q)$ of the lowest-dimension operator with charge Q under some global U(1) symmetry must be a convex function of Q. This property has been conjectured to hold for any (unitary) conformal field theory and generalized to larger global symmetry groups. Here we refine and further test the convex charge conjecture via semiclassical computations for fixed charge sectors of different theories in different dimensions. We analyze the convexity properties of the leading and next-to-leading order terms stemming from the semiclassical computation, de facto, extending previous tests beyond the leading perturbative contributions and to arbitrary charges. In particular, the leading contribution is sufficient to test convexity in the semiclassical computations. We also consider intriguing cases in which the models feature a transition from real to complex conformal dimensions either as a function of the charge or number of matter fields. As a relevant example of the first kind, we investigate the $O(N)$ model in $4+\epsilon$ dimensions. As an example of the second type we consider the $U(N)\times U(M)$ model in $4-\epsilon$ dimensions. Both models display a rich dynamics where, by changing the number of matter fields and/or charge, one can achieve dramatically different physical regimes. We discover that whenever a complex conformal dimension appears, the real part satisfies the convexity property., Comment: 22 pages, 18 figures. Typos are fixed and references are added in version 2

Applying a ML approach to the temporal variability of the Spike protein sequence enables us to identify, classify and track emerging virus variants. Our analysis is unbiased, in the sense that it does not require any prior knowledge of the variant characteristics, and our results are validated by other informed methods that define variants based on the complete genome. Furthermore, correlating persistent variants of our approach to epidemiological data, we discover that each new wave of the COVID-19 pandemic is driven and dominated by a new emerging variant. Our results are therefore indispensable for further studies on the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 and the prediction of evolutionary patterns that determine current and future mutations of the Spike proteins, as well as their diversification and persistence during the viral spread. Moreover, our ML algorithm works as an efficient early warning system for the emergence of new persistent variants that may pose a threat of triggering a new wave of COVID-19. Capable of a timely identification of potential new epidemiological threats when the variant only represents 1% of the new sequences, our ML strategy is a crucial tool for decision makers to define short and long term strategies to curb future outbreaks. The same methodology can be applied to other viral diseases, influenza included, if sufficient sequencing data is available., Comment: 16 pages, 6 figures, supplementary material in a separate file. Analysis extended with early warning performance and spike protein diversification

We compute the scaling dimensions of a family of fixed-charge operators at the infrared fixed point of the $O(N)$ model featuring cubic interactions in $d=6-\epsilon$ for arbitrary $N$ to leading and subleading order in the charge but to all orders in the couplings. The results are used to analyze the conjectured equivalence with the $O(N)$ model displaying quartic interactions at its ultraviolet fixed point. This is performed by comparing the cubic model scaling dimensions against the known large $N$ results for the quartic model and demonstrating that they match. Our results reinforce the conjectured equivalence and further provide novel information on the finite $N$ physics stemming from the computations in the cubic model just below 6 dimensions., Comment: 21 pages, 2 figures, 1 table

We propose a physical theory underlying the temporal evolution of competing virus variants that relies on the existence of (quasi) fixed points capturing the large time scale invariance of the dynamics. To motivate our result we first modify the time-honoured compartmental models of the SIR type to account for the existence of competing variants and then show how their evolution can be naturally re-phrased in terms of flow equations ending at quasi fixed points. As the natural next step we employ (near) scale invariance to organise the time evolution of the competing variants within the effective description of the epidemic Renormalization Group framework. We test the resulting theory against the time evolution of COVID-19 virus variants that validate the theory empirically., Comment: 38 pages, 32 figures

We investigate the theoretical predictions for thrust distribution in the electron positron annihilation to three-jets process at NNLO for different values of the number of flavors, $N_f$. To determine the distribution along the entire renormalization group flow from the highest energies to zero energy we consider the number of flavors near the upper boundary of the conformal window. In this regime of number of flavors the theory develops a perturbative infrared interacting fixed point. We then consider also the QED thrust obtained as the limit $N_c \rightarrow 0$ of the number of colors. In this case the low energy limit is governed by an infrared free theory. Using these quantum field theories limits as theoretical laboratories we arrive at an interesting comparison between the Conventional Scale Setting - (CSS) and the Principle of Maximum Conformality (PMC$_\infty$) methods. We show that within the perturbative regime of the conformal window and also out of the conformal window the PMC$_\infty$ leads to a higher precision, and that reducing the number of flavors, from the upper boundary to the lower boundary, through the phase transition the curves given by the PMC$_\infty$ method preserve with continuity the position of the peak, showing perfect agreement with the experimental data already at NNLO., Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures

We show that the observed anomalies in the lepton sector can be explained in extensions of the Standard Model that are natural and, therefore, resolve the Higgs sector hierarchy problem. The scale of new physics is around the TeV and Technicolor-like theories are ideal candidate models., Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures

We go beyond a systematic review of the semiclassical approaches for determining the scaling dimensions of fixed-charge operators in $U(1)$ and $O(N)$ models by introducing a general strategy apt at determining the relation between a given charge configuration and the associated operators for more involved symmetry groups such as the $U(N) \times U(M)$. We show how, varying the charge configuration, it is possible to access anomalous dimensions of different operators transforming according to a variety of irreducible representations of the non-abelian symmetry group without the aid of diagrammatical computations. We illustrate our computational strategy by determining the anomalous dimensions of several composite operators to the next-to-leading order in the semiclassical expansion for the $U(N) \times U(M)$ conformal field theory (CFT) in $4-\epsilon$ dimensions. Thanks to the powerful interplay between semiclassical methods and group theory we can, for the first time, extract scaling dimensions for a wide range of operators., Comment: 36 pages, 3 figures

Infectious diseases are a threat for human health with tremendous impact on our society at large. The recent COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the SARS-CoV-2, is the latest example of a highly infectious disease ravaging the world, since late 2019. It is therefore imperative to develop efficient mathematical models, able to substantially curb the damages of a pandemic by unveiling disease spreading dynamics and symmetries. This will help inform (non)-pharmaceutical prevention strategies. For the reasons above we wrote this report that goes at the heart of mathematical modelling of infectious disease diffusion by simultaneously investigating the underlying microscopic dynamics in terms of percolation models, effective description via compartmental models and the employment of temporal symmetries naturally encoded in the mathematical language of critical phenomena. Our report reviews these approaches and determines their common denominators, relevant for theoretical epidemiology and its link to important concepts in theoretical physics. We show that the different frameworks exhibit common features such as criticality and self-similarity under time rescaling. These features are naturally encoded within the unifying field theoretical approach. The latter leads to an efficient description of the time evolution of the disease via a framework in which (near) time-dilation invariance is explicitly realised. As important test of the relevance of symmetries we show how to mathematically account for observed phenomena such as multi-wave dynamics. The models presented here are of immediate relevance for different realms of scientific enquiry from medical applications to the understanding of human behaviour. Our review offers novel perspectives on how to model, capture, organise and understand epidemiological data and disease dynamics for modelling real-world phenomena., Comment: 57 pages, 40 figures. Article expanded into a review. Prepared for submission to Physics Reports

We employ the epidemic Renormalization Group (eRG) framework to understand, reproduce and predict the COVID-19 pandemic diffusion across the US. The human mobility across different geographical US divisions is modelled via open source flight data alongside the impact of social distancing for each such division. We analyse the impact of the vaccination strategy on the current pandemic wave dynamics in the US. We observe that the ongoing vaccination campaign will not impact the current pandemic wave and therefore strict social distancing measures must still be enacted. To curb the current and the next waves our results indisputably show that vaccinations alone are not enough and strict social distancing measures are required until sufficient immunity is achieved. Our results are essential for a successful vaccination strategy in the US., Comment: 10 pages, 15 figures. V2: data and vaccination rates adjourned to March 2021

We pave the way for future gravitational-wave detection experiments, such as the Big Bang Observer and DECIGO, to constrain dark sectors made of SU(N) Yang-Mills confined theories. We go beyond the state-of-the-art by combining first principle lattice results and effective field theory approaches to infer essential information about the non-perturbative dark deconfinement phase transition driving the generation of gravitational-waves in the early universe, such as the order, duration and energy budget of the phase transition which are essential in establishing the strength of the resulting gravitational-wave signal., Comment: 17 pages, 13 figures; v2: corrected Fig.12 & typos, updated refs; v3: matches journal version

We investigate the high temperature fate of four dimensional gauge-Yukawa theories featuring short distance conformality of either interacting or non-interacting nature. The latter is known as complete asymptotic freedom and, as templates, we consider non-abelian gauge theories featuring either two singlet scalars coupled to gauged fermions via Yukawa interactions or two gauged scalars with(out) fermions. For theories with interacting fixed points at short distance, known as asymptotically safe, we consider two calculable examples. Exploring the landscape of safe and free theories above we discover a class of complete asymptotically free theories for which symmetry breaks at arbitrary high temperatures. In its minimal form this class is constituted by a theory with two fundamental gauged scalars each gauged under an independent group., Comment: 35 pages, section 2.2.5 and appendix C.5 added with new example of symmetry non-restoration: two SU(Nc) groups, each with a scalar adjoint

Pandemics, like the 1918 Spanish Influenza and COVID-19, spread through regions of the World in subsequent waves. There is, however, no consensus on the origin of this pattern, which may originate from human behaviour rather than from the virus diffusion itself. Time-honoured models of the SIR type or others based on complex networks describe well the exponential spread of the disease, but cannot naturally accommodate the wave pattern. Nevertheless, understanding this time-structure is of paramount importance in designing effective prevention measures. Here we propose a consistent picture of the wave pattern based on the epidemic Renormalisation Group (eRG) framework, which is guided by the global symmetries of the system under time rescaling. We show that the rate of spreading of the disease can be interpreted as a time-dilation symmetry, while the final stage of an epidemic episode corresponds to reaching a time scale-invariant state. We find that the endemic period between two waves is a sign of instability in the system, associated to near-breaking of the time scale-invariance. This phenomenon can be described in terms of an eRG model featuring complex fixed points. Our results demonstrate that the key to control the arrival of the next wave of a pandemic is in the strolling period in between waves, i.e. when the number of infections grow linearly. Thus, limiting the virus diffusion in this period is the most effective way to prevent or delay the arrival of the next wave. In this work we establish a new guiding principle for the formulation of mid-term governmental strategies to curb pandemics and avoid recurrent waves of infections, deleterious in terms of human life loss and economic damage., Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures

Epidemic data show the existence of a region of quasi-linear growth (strolling period) of infected cases extending in between waves. We demonstrate that this constitutes evidence for the existence of near time-scale invariance that is neatly encoded via complex fixed points in the epidemic Renormalisation Group approach. As a result we achieve a deeper understanding of multiple wave dynamics and its inter-wave strolling regime. Our results are tested and calibrated against the COVID-19 pandemic data. Because of the simplicity of our approach that is organised around symmetry principles our discovery amounts to a paradigm shift in the way epidemiological data are mathematically modelled., Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures

We employ the Google and Apple mobility data to identify, quantify and classify different degrees of social distancing and characterise their imprint on the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe and in the United States. We identify the period of enacted social distancing via Google and Apple data, independently from the political decisions. Interestingly we observe a general decrease in the infection rate occurring two to five weeks after the onset of mobility reduction for the European countries and the American states., Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures, supplementary material included (4 figures and 4 tables)