High Energy Physics

In string backgrounds with flux and branes, there are subtleties in identifying the independent, globally-defined degrees of freedom due to required gauge patching, which we illustrate with background flux. Work by Cariglia and Lechner (extending Dirac and Teitelboim) allows separation of D-brane and flux degrees of freedom without doubling the gauge sector in a democratic formalism. We review the Cariglia-Lechner formalism and adapt it for compactifications, point out some previously unremarked features, and give alternate derivations of some new terms in the 10D (and 11D) supergravity actions in the presence of branes. Along the way, we will discuss how to integrate gauge potentials that are only locally defined. Finally, we show how to find the independent degrees of freedom and derive their equations of motion.

In this talk, I will detail two ways to search for low-mass axion dark matter using cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarization measurements. These appear, in particular, to be some of the most promising ways to directly detect fuzzy dark matter. Axion dark matter causes rotation of the polarization of light passing through it. This gives rise to two novel phenomena in the CMB. First, the late-time oscillations of the axion field today cause the CMB polarization to oscillate in phase across the entire sky. Second, the early-time oscillations of the axion field wash out the polarization produced at last-scattering, reducing the polarized fraction (TE and EE power spectra) compared to the standard prediction. Since the axion field is oscillating, the common (static) ‘cosmic birefringence’ search is not appropriate for axion dark matter. These two phenomena can be used to search for axion dark matter at the lighter end of the mass range, with a reach several orders of magnitude beyond current constraints. I will present a limit from the washout effect using existing Planck results, and discuss the significant future discovery potential for CMB detectors searching in particular for the oscillating effect.

[1903.02666]

The near horizon region of any black hole looks like flat space and displays an approximate Poincare symmetry. We study the way these symmetries are realized for near extremal black holes.

We construct SL(2) generators that move matter fields relative to the boundaries. The construction is exact to all orders in the gravitational coupling. We also display an approximate realization of these generators in terms of simple operators defined at the boundary. These can also be realized in the boundary quantum mechanical theory. We also discuss the realization of these in the SYK model.

Defects and their RG flows play an important role in many systems, with perhaps the most famous example being the Kondo effect. We study Kondo-like interface flows in D1/D5 holography from the point of view of both probe branes and of the corresponding backreacted supergravity solutions.

I will discuss the computation of second-order terms in the entanglement entropy and subregion complexity for a spherical entangling region in the AdS black hole background relative to pure AdS. I will suggest an extension of the conjectured relationship between subregion complexity and Fisher information into a relation that is reminiscent of the first law of thermodynamics. By analogy, entanglement and complexity play the roles of heat and work, respectively. Time permitting, I will also discuss the computation of third- and fourth-order terms in the relative entropy.