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arXiv:2309.03302 · Journal of High Energy Physics

Nonrelativistic Dirac fermions on the torus

Jeremías Aguilera Damia, Mario Solís, Gonzalo Torroba

Published Dec 12, 2023• 3 citations

Abstract

Abstract Two dimensional conformal field theories have been extensively studied in the past. When considered on the torus, they are strongly constrained by modular invariance. However, introducing relevant deformations or chemical potentials pushes these theories away from criticality, where many of their aspects are still poorly understood. In this note we make a step towards filling this gap, by analyzing the theory of a Dirac fermion on the torus, deformed by a mass term and a chemical potential for the particle number symmetry. The theory breaks conformal and Lorentz invariance, and we study its spectrum and partition function. We also focus on two limits that are interesting on their own right: a massless relativistic fermion with nonzero chemical potential (a simple model for CFTs at finite density), and nonrelativistic Schrodinger fermions (of relevance in condensed matter systems). Taking inspiration from recent developments in massive modular forms, we obtain a representation of the torus free energy based on Fourier-transforming over a twisted boundary condition. This dual representation fullfills many properties analogous to modular invariance in CFTs. In particular, we use this result to derive Cardy-like formulas for the high energy density of states of these theories.

DOI: 10.1007/jhep12(2023)060

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Abstract Two dimensional conformal field theories have been extensively studied in the past. When considered on the torus, they are strongly constrained by modular invariance. However, introducing relevant deformations or chemical potentials pushes these theories away from criticality, where many of their aspects are still poorly understood. In this note we make a step towards filling this gap, by analyzing the theory of a Dirac fermion on the torus, deformed by a mass term and a chemical potential for the particle number symmetry. The theory breaks conformal and Lorentz invariance, and we study its spectrum and partition function. We also focus on two limits that are interesting on their own right: a massless relativistic fermion with nonzero chemical potential (a simple model for CFTs at finite density), and nonrelativistic Schrodinger fermions (of relevance in condensed matter systems). Taking inspiration from recent developments in massive modular forms, we obtain a representation of the torus free energy based on Fourier-transforming over a twisted boundary condition. This dual representation fullfills many properties analogous to modular invariance in CFTs. In particular, we use this result to derive Cardy-like formulas for the high energy density of states of these theories.

Modular covariance and uniqueness of

J\overline{T}

deformed CFTs

A bstract We study families of two dimensional quantum field theories, labeled by a dimensionful parameter μ , that contain a holomorphic conserved U(1) current J ( z ). We assume that these theories can be consistently defined on a torus, so their partition sum, with a chemical potential for the charge that couples to J , is modular covariant. We further require that in these theories, the energy of a state at finite μ is a function only of μ , and of the energy, momentum and charge of the corresponding state at μ = 0, where the theory becomes conformal. We show that under these conditions, the torus partition sum of the theory at μ = 0 uniquely determines the partition sum (and thus the spectrum) of the perturbed theory, to all orders in μ , to be that of a

\mu J\overline{T}

μ J T ¯ deformed conformal field theory (CFT). We derive a flow equation for the

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J T ¯ deformed partition sum, and use it to study non-perturbative effects. We find non-perturbative ambiguities for any non-zero value of μ , and comment on their possible relations to holography.

Modular invariance and uniqueness of

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Abstract Any two dimensional quantum field theory that can be consistently defined on a torus is invariant under modular transformations. In this paper we study families of quantum field theories labeled by a dimensionful parameter t, that have the additional property that the energy of a state at finite t is a function only of t and of the energy and momentum of the corresponding state at t = 0, where the theory becomes conformal. We show that under this requirement, the partition sum of the theory at t = 0 uniquely determines the partition sum (and thus the spectrum) of the perturbed theory, to all orders in t, to be that of a

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Any two dimensional quantum field theory that can be consistently defined on a torus is invariant under modular transformations. In this paper we study families of quantum field theories labeled by a dimensionful parameter t, that have the additional property that the energy of a state at finite t is a function only of t and of the energy and momentum of the corresponding state at t = 0, where the theory becomes conformal. We show that under this requirement, the partition sum of the theory at t = 0 uniquely determines the partition sum (and thus the spectrum) of the perturbed theory, to all orders in t, to be that of a

T\bar{T}

deformed CFT. Non-perturbatively, we find that for one sign of t (for which the energies are real) the partition sum is uniquely determined, while for the other sign we find non-perturbative ambiguities. We characterize these ambiguities and comment on their possible relations to holography.

Many model quantum spin systems have been proposed to realize critical points or phases described by 2+1 dimensional conformal gauge theories. On a torus of size

L

and modular parameter $\ensuremath{\tau}$, the energy levels of such gauge theories equal

(1/L)

times universal functions of $\ensuremath{\tau}$. We compute the universal spectrum of

{\mathrm{QED}}_{3}

, a U(1) gauge theory with

{N}_{f}

two-component massless Dirac fermions, in the large-

L

limit. We also allow for a Chern-Simons term at level

k

, and show how the topological

k

-fold ground state degeneracy in the absence of fermions transforms into the universal spectrum in the presence of fermions; these computations are performed at fixed

{N}_{f}/k

in the large-

{N}_{f}

limit.

T

\overline{T}

-flow effects on torus partition functions

Abstract In this paper, we investigate the partition functions of conformal field theories (CFTs) with the T

\overline{T}

T ¯ deformation on a torus in terms of the perturbative QFT approach. In Lagrangian path integral formalism, the first- and second-order deformations to the partition functions of 2D free bosons, free Dirac fermions, and free Majorana fermions on a torus are obtained. The corresponding Lagrangian counterterms in these theories are also discussed. The first two orders of the deformed partition functions and the first-order vacuum expectation value (VEV) of the first quantum KdV charge obtained by the perturbative QFT approach are consistent with results obtained by the Hamiltonian formalism in literature.

We demonstrate the presence of modular properties in partition functions of TT deformed conformal field theories. These properties are verified explicitly for the deformed free boson. The modular features facilitate a derivation of the asymptotic density of states in these theories, which turns out to interpolate between Cardy and Hagedorn behaviours. We also point out a sub-sector of the spectrum that remains undeformed under the TT flow. Finally, we comment on the deformation of the CFT vacuum character and its implications for the holographic dual.