Discrete symmetries and the propagator approach to coupled fermions in Quantum Field Theory. Generalities: The case of a single fermion-antifermion pair

Starting from Wigner’s symmetry representation theorem, we give a general account of discrete symmetries (parity P, charge conjugation C, time-reversal T), focusing on fermions in Quantum Field Theory. We provide the rules of transformation of Weyl spinors, both at the classical level (grassmanian wave functions) and quantum level (operators). Making use of Wightman’s definition of invariance, we outline ambiguities linked to the notion of classical fermionic Lagrangian. We then present the general constraints cast by these transformations and their products on the propagator of the simplest among coupled fermionic system, the one made with one fermion and its antifermion. Last, we put in correspondence the propagation of C eigenstates (Majorana fermions) and the criteria cast on their propagator by C and CP invariance.     

Orthogonality between scales in a renormalization group for fermions

Having in mind the development of a technical tool to treat fermionic systems, we propose a Kadanoff-Wilson block renormalization transformation employing unusual averages (an inevitable artifact due to the specificity of lattice fermions and to the desired transformation properties). The free propagator is decomposed into operators associated to different momentum scales and with orthogonal relations, and the effective actions generated from the Dirac operator by the transformations present uniform exponential decay. We argue to show the usefulness of the formalism to study correlation functions of interacting fermions.     

Collective modes of type-ⅡWeyl fermions with repulsive S-wave interaction

Three-dimensional type-ⅡWeyl fermions possess overtilted cone-like low-energy band dispersion.Unlike the closed ellipsoidal Fermi surface for type-ⅠWeyl fermions,the Fermi surface is an open hyperboloid for type-ⅡWeyl fermions.We evaluate the spin and density susceptibility of type-ⅡWeyl fermions with repulsive S-wave interaction by means of Green’s functions.We obtain the particle–hole continuum along the tilted momentum direction and perpendicular to the tilted momentum direction respectively.We find the zero sound mode in some repulsive interaction strengths by numerically solving the pole equations of the susceptibility within the random-phase approximation.     

Massless spinors in more than four dimensions

We consider fermions in theories of higher dimensional gravity where the four-dimensional gauge group is embedded in the invariance group of d dimensional (d>4) Lorentz and general co-ordinate transformations. It is a necessary condition for obtaining massless chiral fermions from dimensional reduction that the d dimensional spinor does not admit a mass term consistent with Lorentz and general co-ordinate transformations. This is the case for a Weyl spinor for d = 6 8 mod 8, a Majorana spinor for d = 9 mod 8 or a Majorana-Weyl spinor for d = 2 mod 8.     

Gravitational anomalies and Schwinger terms

A BRST transformation incorporating general coordinate, Lorentz and Weyl transformations is defined. The variation of the effective action for fermions moving in an external gravitational field is calculated using an extended BRST analysis. InD=2 dimensions the Schwinger terms appearing in the equal time commutators of energy momentum tensors are related to the gravitational and Weyl anomalies for a massless spin 0 and a massless spin 1/2 model, respectively.     

Unitary transformations,Weyl's association and the role of canonical transformations

Quantum mechanical operators can be associated with functions of p, q through the Weyl or Wigner transform. In this paper we develop alternative associations through the use of unitary transformations, and study the relation between unitary transformations and canonical transformations of the p, q labels.     

New overlap construction of Weyl fermions on the lattice

In a recent article Hasenfratz and von Allmen have suggested a fixed point action for two flavors of Weyl fermions on the lattice with gauge group SU(2). The block-spin transformation they use maps the chiral and vector symmetries of the underlying vector theory onto two equations of the Ginsparg–Wilson (GW) type. We show that an overlap Dirac operator can be constructed which solves both GW equations simultaneously. We discuss the properties of this overlap operator and its projection onto lattice Weyl fermions which seems to be free of artefacts, in particular the projection operators are independent of the gauge field.     

Operator ordering and supersymmetry

We investigate supersymmetric quantum mechanics in curved space. In particular we discuss, in the framework of the canonical formulation, the role of supersymmetry (SUSY) and of invariance under general coordinate transformations (GCT) in solving the operator ordering ambiguity. It is shown that GCT invariance is instrumental to achieve such result. We also examine the connection with the Weyl ordering of operators and the relevance of our results for the path integral approach.     

Baxter Q-operators of the XXZ chain and R-matrix factorization

We construct Baxter operators as generalized transfer matrices being traces of products of generic R matrices. The latter are shown to factorize into simpler operators allowing for explicit expressions in terms of functions of a Weyl pair of basic operators. These explicit expressions are the basis for explicit expression for Baxter Q-operators and for investigating their properties.     

Chiral bosons

The local lagrangian formulation for chiral bosons recently suggested by Floreanini and Jackiw is analyzed. We quantize the system and explain how the unconventional Poincaré generators of left and right chiral bosons combine to form the standard generators. The left-U(1) Kac-Moody algebra and the left-Virasoro algebra are shown to be the same as for left Weyl fermions. We compare the partition functions, on the torus, of a chiral boson and a chiral fermion. The left-moving boson is coupled to gauge fields producing the same anomalies as in the fermionic formulation. It is pointed out that the unconventional Lorentz transformations are inapplicable for the coupled system and a set of different transformations is presented. A coupling to gravity is proposed. We present the theory of chiral bosons on a group manifold, the chiral WZW model. The (1,0) supersymmetric abelian and non-abelian chiral bosons are described.     

Type-III and IV interacting Weyl points

3+1-dimensional Weyl fermions in interacting systems are described by effective quasi-relativistic Green’s functions parametrized by a 16-element matrix e _α ^μ in an expansion around the Weyl point. The matrix e _α ^μ can be naturally identified as an effective tetrad field for the fermions. The correspondence between the tetrad field and an effective quasi-relativistic metric g_μν governing the Weyl fermions allows for the possibility to simulate different classes of metric fields emerging in general relativity in interacting Weyl semimetals. According to this correspondence, there can be four types of Weyl fermions, depending on the signs of the components g ⁰⁰ and g ₀₀ of the effective metric. In addition to the conventional type-I fermions with a tilted Weyl cone and type-II fermions with an overtilted Weyl cone for g ⁰⁰ > 0 and, respectively, g ₀₀ > 0 or g ₀₀ < 0, we find additional “type-III” and “type-IV” Weyl fermions with instabilities (complex frequencies) for g ⁰⁰ < 0 and g ₀₀ > 0 or g ₀₀ < 0, respectively. While the type-I and type-II Weyl points allow us to simulate the black hole event horizon at an interface where g ⁰⁰ changes sign, the type-III Weyl point leads to effective spacetimes with closed timelike curves.     

Separability Criteria Based on the Weyl Operators

Entanglement as a vital resource for information processing can be described by special properties of the quantum state. Using the well-known Weyl basis we propose a new Bloch decomposition of the quantum state and study its separability problem. This decomposition enables us to find an alternative characterization of the separability based on the correlation matrix. We show that the criterion is effective in detecting entanglement for the isotropic states, Bell-diagonal states and some PPT entangled states. We also use the Weyl operators to construct an detecting operator for quantum teleportation.     

General Wigner Transforms Studied by Virtue of Weyl Ordering of the Wigner Operator

By virtue of the property that Weyl ordering is invariant under similar transformations we show that the Weyl ordered form of the Wigner operator, a Dirac δ-operator function, brings much convenience for derivingmiscellaneous Wigner transforms. The operators which engender various transforms of the Wigner operator, can alsobe easily deduced by virtue of the Weyl ordering technique. The correspondence between the optical Wigner transformsand the squeezing transforms in quantum optics is investigated.     

Observations on the Wilson fermions in the ϵ regime

We make several observations concerning the low quark mass region with Wilson fermions and how this is connected with the ? regime in the continuum. A transition from tiny cutoff effects to rather large discretization errors would take place in general with Wilson fermions if we lower the quark mass at finite lattice spacing. We argue that these two regions exhibit rather different behaviours concerning the coupling between cutoff effects and zero-modes. We interpolate between these two regimes adding to the continuum ? regime formulae, in the spirit of the Symanzik expansion, the relevant operators parametrising the leading cutoff effects. We compute the partition function, the chiral condensate, scalar and pseudo-scalar correlation functions. The final formulae can be used to fit lattice data to extract physical low energy constants, and to estimate systematic uncertainties coming from discretization errors. Moreover they suggest ways on how to remove these cutoff effects, the core of which are captured by the continuum zero modes.     

General Wigner Transforms Studied by Virtue of Weyl Ordering of the Wigner Operator

By virtue of the property that Weyl ordering is invariant under similar transformations we show that the Weyl ordered form of the Wigner operator, a Dirac δ-operator function, brings much convenience for deriving miscellaneous Wigner transforms. The operators which engender various transforms of the Wigner operator, can also be easily deduced by virtue of the Weyl ordering technique. The correspondence between the optical Wigner transforms and the squeezing transforms in quantum optics is investigated.     

Theory of magnetic oscillations in Weyl semimetals

Weyl semimetals are a new class of Dirac material that possesses bulk energy nodes in three dimensions, in contrast to two dimensional graphene. In this paper, we study a Weyl semimetal subject to an applied magnetic field. We find distinct behavior that can be used to identify materials containing three dimensional Dirac fermions. We derive expressions for the density of states, electronic specific heat, and the magnetization. We focus our attention on the quantum oscillations in the magnetization. We find phase shifts in the quantum oscillations that distinguish the Weyl semimetal from conventional three dimensional Schrödinger fermions, as well as from two dimensional Dirac fermions. The density of states as a function of energy displays a sawtooth pattern which has its origin in the dispersion of the three dimensional Landau levels. At the same time, the spacing in energy of the sawtooth spike goes like the square root of the applied magnetic field which reflects the Dirac nature of the fermions. These features are reflected in the specific heat and magnetization. Finally, we apply a simple model for disorder and show that this tends to damp out the magnetic oscillations in the magnetization at small fields.     

Conformal field theory of composite fermions

We show that the quantum Hall wave functions for the ground states in the Jain series nu=n/(2np+1) can be exactly expressed in terms of correlation functions of local vertex operators Vn corresponding to composite fermions in the nth composite-fermion (CF) Landau level. This allows for the powerful mathematics of conformal field theory to be applied to the successful CF phenomenology. Quasiparticle and quasihole states are expressed as correlators of anyonic operators with fractional (local) charge, allowing a simple algebraic understanding of their topological properties that are not manifest in the CF wave functions. Moreover, our construction shows how the states in the nu=n/(2np+1) Jain sequence may be interpreted as condensates of quasiparticles.     

Vertex Operators in 4D Quantum Gravity Formulated as CFT

We study vertex operators in 4D conformal field theory derived from quantized gravity, whose dynamics is governed by the Wess-Zumino action by Riegert and the Weyl action. Conformal symmetry is equal to diffeomorphism symmetry in the ultraviolet limit, which mixes positive-metric and negative-metric modes of the gravitational field and thus these modes cannot be treated separately in physical operators. In this paper, we construct gravitational vertex operators such as the Ricci scalar, defined as space-time volume integrals of them are invariant under conformal transformations. Short distance singularities of these operator products are computed and it is shown that their coefficients have physically correct signs. Furthermore, we show that conformal algebra holds even in the system perturbed by the cosmological constant vertex operator as in the case of the Liouville theory shown by Curtright and Thorn.     

Wigner's function and other distribution functions in mock phase spaces

This review deals with the methods of associating functions with quantum mechanical operators in such a manner that these functions should furnish conveniently semiclassical approximations. We present a unified treatment of methods and results which usually appear under expressions such as Wigner's function, Weyl's association, Kirkwood's expansion, Glauber's coherent state representation, etc.; we also construct some new associations.Section 1 gives the motivation by discussing the Thomas-Fermi theory of an atom with this end in view.Section 2 introduces new operators which resemble Dirac delta functions with operator arguments, the operators being the momenta and coordinates. Reasons are given as to why this should be useful. Next we introduce the notion of an operator basis, and discuss the possibility and usefulness of writing an operator as a linear combination of the basis operators. The coefficients in the linear combination are c-numbers and the c-numbers are associated with the operator (in that particular basis). The delta function type operators introduced before can be used as a basis for the dynamical operators, and the c-numbers obtained in this manner turn out to be the c-number functions used by Wigner, Weyl, Kirkwood, Glauber, etc. New bases and associations can now be invented at will. One such new basis is presented and discussed. The reasons and motivations for choosing different bases is then explained.The copious and seemingly random mathematical relations between these functions are then nothing else but the relations between the expansion coefficients engendered by the relations between the different bases. These are shown and discussed in this light. A brief discussion is then given to possible transformation of the p, q labels.Section 3 gives examples of how the semiclassical expansions are generated for these functions and exhibits their equivalence.The mathematical paraphernalia are collected in the appendices.     

光场位相算符和逆算符的Weyl编序展开

用有序算符内的积分技术, 推导了光场位相算符和逆算符的Weyl编序展开形式, 并利用该结果获得了相算符的经典对应以及某些新的特殊函数的生成函数和新的积分公式, 尤其是导出了带负次幂的复高斯积分的积分公式. 关键词： Weyl编序 位相算符 有序算符内的积分