Nicodemo Magnoli

Duality and supersymmetry breaking in string theory

Abstract Target-space duality is incorporated in previously proposed effective actions describing non-perturbative supersymmetry breaking in string theory via gaugino condensation. Duality-preserving vacua with broken supersymmetry and fixed unified coupling constant do generically occur. The question of the vanishing of the cosmological constant is also briefly addressed.

Analytic dc thermoelectric conductivities in holography with massive gravitons

We provide an analytical derivation of the thermo-electric transport coefficients of the simplest momentum-dissipating model in gauge/gravity where the lack of momentum conservation is realized by means of explicit graviton mass in the bulk. We rely on the procedure recently described by Donos and Gauntlett in the context of Q-lattices and holographic models where momentum dissipation is realized through non-trivial scalars. The analytical approach confirms the results found previously by means of numerical computations.

Thermo-electric transport in gauge/gravity models with momentum dissipation

A bstractWe present a systematic definition and analysis of the thermo-electric linear response in gauge/gravity systems focusing especially on models with massive gravity in the bulk and therefore momentum dissipation in the dual field theory. A precise treatment of finite counter-terms proves to be essential to yield a consistent physical picture whose hydrodynamic and beyond-hydrodynamics behaviors noticeably match with field theoretical expectations. The model furnishes a possible gauge/gravity description of the crossover from the quantum-critical to the disorder-dominated Fermi-liquid behaviors, as expected in graphene.

Bounds on charge and heat diffusivities in momentum dissipating holography

A bstractInspired by a recently conjectured universal bound for thermo-electric diffusion constants in quantum critical, strongly coupled systems and relying on holographic analytical computations, we investigate the possibility of formulating Planckian bounds in different holographic models featuring momentum dissipation. For a certain family of solutions to a simple massive gravity dilaton model at zero charge density we find linear in temperature resistivity and entropy density alongside a constant electric susceptibility. In addition we explicitly find that the sum of the thermo-electric diffusion constants is bounded.

Coexistence of two vector order parameters: A holographic model for ferromagnetic superconductivity

A bstractWe study a generalization of the standard holographic p-wave superconductor featuring two interacting vector order parameters. Basing our argument on the symmetry and linear response properties of the model, we propose it as a holographic effective theory describing a strongly coupled ferromagnetic superconductor. We show that the two order parameters undergo concomitant condensations as a manifestation of an intrinsically interlaced charge/spin dynamics. Such intertwined dynamics is confirmed by the study of the transport properties. We characterize thoroughly the equilibrium and the linear response (i.e. optical conductivity and spin susceptibility) of the model at hand by means of a probe approximation analysis. Some insight about the effects of backreaction in the normal phase can be gained by analogy with the s-wave unbalanced holographic superconductor.

All order I.R. finite expansion for short distance behavior of massless theories perturbed by a relevant operator

Abstract We consider here renormalizable theories without relevant couplings and present an I.R. consistent technique to study corrections to short distance behavior (Wilson O.P.E. coefficients) due to a relevant perturbation. Our method is the result of a complete reformulation of recent works on the field, and is characterized by a more orthodox treatment of U.V. divergences that allows for simpler formulae and consequently an explicit all order (regularization invariant) I.R. finiteness proof. Underlying hypotheses are discussed in detail and found to be satisfied in conformal theories that constitute a natural field of application of this approach.

Chasing the cuprates with dilatonic dyons

A bstractMagnetic field and momentum dissipation are key ingredients in describing condensed matter systems. We include them in gauge/gravity and systematically explore the bottom-up panorama of holographic IR effective field theories based on bulk EinsteinMaxwell Lagrangians plus scalars. The class of solutions here examined appears insufficient to capture the phenomenology of charge transport in the cuprates. We analyze in particular the temperature scaling of the resistivity and of the Hall angle. Keeping an open attitude, we illustrate weak and strong points of the approach.

Spontaneous breaking of local supersymmetry by gravitational instantons

We study the gravitino condensate 〈(DμΨν − DμΨν)(DμΨν − DνΨμ)〉 in the one-loop approximation around a nontrivial background metric. It turns out that, among the known regular solutions of the euclidean Einstein equations, the Eguchi-Hanson metric is the unique relevant configuration. The standard functional integration gives a finite answer for the gravitino condensate. Due to the presence of an anomalous supersymmetry transformation law, this implies that local supersymmetry is broken spontaneously in all supergravity models with scalar multiplets.

Exact consequences of the trace anomaly in four dimensions

The general form of the stress-tensor three-point function in four dimensions is obtained by solving the Ward identities for the diffeomorphism and Weyl symmetries. Several properties of this correlator are discussed, such as the renormalization and scheme independence and the analogies with the anomalous chiral triangle. At the critical point, the coefficients a and c of the four-dimensional trace anomaly are related to two finite, scheme-independent amplitudes of the three-point function. Off-criticality, the imaginary parts of these amplitudes satisfy sum rules which express the total renormalization-group flow of a and c between pairs of critical points. Although these sum rules are similar to that satisfied by the two-dimensional central charge, the monotonicity of the flow, i.e., the four-dimensional analogue of the c-theorem, remains to be proven.

Tests of QCD from jets on the Z0 peak

We present a QCD analysis of some recently published data on jet production in Z0 decays. We find that the Z0 energy one can analyse also jet shape variables which were disregarded at lower energy e+e- experiments because of their large hadronization sensitivity. We also discuss the possibility of extracting from the jet data certain detailed features of the colour structure of the radiative corrections to three jet production.