Decoding perturbation theory using resurgence: Stokes phenomena, new saddle points and Lefschetz thimbles

We explain the physical role of nonperturbative saddle points of path integrals in theories without instantons, using the example of the asymptotically free two-dimensional principal chiral model (PCM). Standard topological arguments based on homotopy considerations suggest no role for nonperturbative saddles in such theories. However, the resurgence theory, which unifies perturbative and nonperturbative physics, predicts the existence of several types of nonperturbative saddles associated with features of the large-order structure of the perturbation theory. These points are illustrated in the PCM, where we find new nonperturbative "fracton" saddle point field configurations, and suggest a quantum interpretation of previously discovered "uniton" unstable classical solutions. The fractons lead to a semiclassical realization of IR renormalons in the circle-compactified theory and yield the microscopic mechanism of the mass gap of the PCM.

We study a certain class of supersymmetric (SUSY) observables in 3d $\mathcal{N}=2$ SUSY Chern-Simons (CS) matter theories and investigate how their exact results are related to the perturbative series with respect to coupling constants given by inverse CS levels. We show that the observables have nontrivial resurgent structures by expressing the exact results as a full transseries consisting of perturbative and non-perturbative parts. As real mass parameters are varied, we encounter Stokes phenomena at an infinite number of points, where the perturbative series becomes non-Borel-summable due to singularities on the positive real axis of the Borel plane. We also investigate the Stokes phenomena when the phase of the coupling constant is varied. For these cases, we find that the Borel ambiguities in the perturbative sector are canceled by those in nonperturbative sectors and end up with an unambiguous result which agrees with the exact result even on the Stokes lines. We also decompose the Coulomb branch localization formula, which is an integral representation for the exact results, into Lefschetz thimble contributions and study how they are related to the resurgent transseries. We interpret the non-perturbative effects appearing in the transseries as contributions of complexified SUSY solutions which formally satisfy the SUSY conditions but are not on the original path integral contour.

The type IIB matrix model is conjectured to describe superstring theory nonperturbatively in terms of ten N×N bosonic traceless Hermitian matrices A_{μ} (μ=0,…,9), whose eigenvalues correspond to (9+1)-dimensional space-time. Quite often, this model has been investigated in its Euclidean version, which is well defined although the SO(9,1) Lorentz symmetry of the original model is replaced by the SO(10) rotational symmetry. Recently, a well-defined model respecting the Lorentz symmetry has been proposed by "gauge-fixing" the Lorentz symmetry nonperturbatively using the Faddeev-Popov procedure. Here we investigate the two models by MonteCarlo simulations overcoming the severe sign problem by the Lefschetz thimble method, in the case of matrix size N=2 omitting fermionic contributions. We add a quadratic term γtr(A_{μ}A^{μ}) in the action and calculate the expectation values of rotationally symmetric (or Lorentz symmetric) observables as a function of the coefficient γ. Our results exhibit striking differences between the two models around γ=0 and in the γ>0 region associated with the appearance of different saddle points, clearly demonstrating their inequivalence against naive expectations from quantum field theory.

A general quantum mechanical or quantum field theoretical system in the path integral formulation has both real and complex saddles (instantons and ghost-instantons). Resurgent asymptotic analysis implies that both types of saddles contribute to physical observables, even if the complex saddles are not on the integration path i.e., the associated Stokes multipliers are zero. We show explicitly that instanton-anti-instanton and ghost--anti-ghost saddles both affect the expansion around the perturbative vacuum. We study a self-dual model in which the analytic continuation of the partition function to negative values of coupling constant gives a pathological exponential growth, but a homotopically independent combination of integration cycles (Lefschetz thimbles) results in a sensible theory. These two choices of the integration cycles are tied with a quantum phase transition. The general set of ideas in our construction may provide new insights into non-perturbative QFT, string theory, quantum gravity, and the theory of quantum phase transitions.

It is sometimes speculated that the sign problem that afflicts many quantum field theories might be reduced or even eliminated by choosing an alternative domain of integration within a complexified extension of the path integral (in the spirit of the stationary phase integration method). In this paper we start to explore this possibility somewhat systematically. A first inspection reveals the presence of many difficulties but - quite surprisingly - most of them have an interesting solution. In particular, it is possible to regularize the lattice theory on a Lefschetz thimble, where the imaginary part of the action is constant and disappears from all observables. This regularization can be justified in terms of symmetries and perturbation theory. Moreover, it is possible to design a Monte Carlo algorithm that samples the configurations in the thimble. This is done by simulating, effectively, a five dimensional system. We describe the algorithm in detail and analyze its expected cost and stability. Unfortunately, the measure term also produces a phase which is not constant and it is currently very expensive to compute. This residual sign problem is expected to be much milder, as the dominant part of the integral is not affected, but we have still no convincing evidence of this. However, the main goal of this paper is to introduce a new approach to the sign problem, that seems to offer much room for improvements. An appealing feature of this approach is its generality. It is illustrated first in the simple case of a scalar field theory with chemical potential, and then extended to the more challenging case of QCD at finite baryonic density.

In two dimensional conformal field theories the limit of large central charge plays the role of a semi-classical limit. Certain universal observables, such as conformal blocks involving the exchange of the identity operator, can be expanded around this classical limit in powers of the central charge c. This expansion is an asymptotic series, so — via the same resurgence analysis familiar from quantum mechanics — necessitates the existence of non-perturbative effects. In the case of identity conformal blocks, these new effects have a simple interpretation: the CFT must possess new primary operators with dimension of order the central charge. This constrains the data of CFTs with large central charge in a way that is similar to (but distinct from) the conformal bootstrap. We study this phenomenon in three ways: numerically, analytically using Zamolodchikov’s recursion relations, and by considering non-unitary minimal models with large (negative) central charge. In the holographic dual to a CFT2, the expansion in powers of c is the perturbative loop expansion in powers of ћ. So our results imply that the graviton loop expansion is an asymptotic series, whose cure requires the inclusion of new saddle points in the gravitational path integral. In certain cases these saddle points have a simple interpretation: they are conical excesses, particle-like states with negative mass which are not in the physical spectrum but nevertheless appear as non-manifold saddle points that control the asymptotic behaviour of the loop expansion. This phenomenon also has an interpretation in SL(2, ℝ) Chern-Simons theory, where the non-perturbative effects are associated with the non-Teichmüller component of the moduli space of flat connections.

This is an introductory level review of recent applications of resurgent trans-series and PicardLefschetz theory to quantum mechanics and quantum field theory. Resurgence connects local perturbative data with global topological structure. In quantum mechanical systems, this program provides a constructive relation between different saddles. For example, in certain cases it has been shown that all information around the instanton saddle is encoded in perturbation theory around the perturbative saddle. In quantum field theory, such as sigma models compactified on a circle, neutral bions provide a semi-classical interpretation of the elusive IR-renormalon, and fractional kink instantons lead to the non-perturbatively induced gap, of order of the strong scale. In the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, saddles must be found by solving the holomorphic Newton’s equation in the inverted (holomorphized) potential. Some saddles are complex, multi-valued, and even singular, but of finite action, and their inclusion is strictly necessary to prevent inconsistencies. The multi-valued saddles enter either via resurgent cancellations, or their phase is tied with a hidden topological angle. We emphasize the importance of the destructive/constructive interference effects between equally dominant saddles in the Lefschetz thimble decomposition. This is especially important in the context of the sign problem.

We propose an explanation for the ‘unnatural smallness’ of the cosmological constant, arguing that the stress–energy tensor of the Standard Model should be given by 〈Tμν〉 = ρvac ημν, with a vacuum energy ρvac that differs from the usual ‘dimensional analysis’ result by an exponentially small factor associated with non-perturbative effects. We substantiate our proposal by a rigorous analysis of a toy model, namely the two-dimensional Gross–Neveu model. The stress energy operator is constructed concretely via the operator-product-expansion, and the inherent ambiguities in its construction are carefully examined. Our result for the vacuum energy is then obtained from the assumptions that (a) the OPE-coefficients have an analytic dependence on g, which we propose to be a generic feature of QFT, and that (b) the vacuum energy vanishes to all orders in perturbation theory. Our result can also be interpreted as saying that, while the semi-classical Einstein’s equation can be fulfilled in Minkowski space at the perturbative level, it cannot at the non-perturbative level. Extrapolating our result from the Gross–Neveu model to the Standard Model, one would expect to find , where Λ is an energy scale such as Λ = MH, and g is a gauge coupling such as g2/4π = αEW. Assuming this extrapolation is justified, the exponentially small factor due to non-perturbative effects would explain why this quantity is tiny, instead of strictly zero.

Taekwang Kim, Masayuki Asakawa, Masakiyo Kitazawa; Photon production spectrum above Tc with a lattice quark propagator, Progress of Theoretical and Experimental Physics, Volume 2018, Issue 1, 1 January 2018, 013D01, https://doi.org/10.1093/ptep/ptx177. This article has been accepted for publication in Progress of Theoretical and Experimental Physics Published by Oxford University Press.

We investigate the continuum limit in $SO(N)$ Principal Chiral Models concentrating in detail on the $SO(4)$ model and its covering group SU(2)xSU(2). We compute the mass gap in terms of Lambda_MS and compare with the prediction of Hollowood of $m/\L_\MS = 3.8716$. We use the finite-size scaling method of L\"uscher et al. to deduce $m/\L_\MS$ and find that for the $SO(4)$ model the computed result of $m/\L_\MS \sim 14$ is in strong disagreement with theory but that a similar analysis of the SU(2)xSU(2) yields excellent agreement with theory. We conjecture that for $SO(4)$ violations of the finite-size scaling assumption are severe forthe values of the correlation length, $\xi$, investigated and that our attempts to extrapolate the results to zero lattice spacing, although plausible, are erroneous. Conversely, the finite-size scaling violations in the SU(2)xSU(2) simulation are consistent with perturbation theory and the computed $beta-$function agrees well with the 3-loop approximation for couplings evaluated at scales $L/a \le \xi$, where $\xi$ is measured in units of the lattice spacing, $a$. We conjecture that lattice vortex artifacts in the $SO(4)$ model are responsible for delaying the onset of the continuum limit until much larger correlation lengths are achieved notwithstanding the apparent onset of scaling. Results for the mass spectrum for SO(N) m, N=8,10 are given whose comparison with theory gives plausible support to our ideas.

We study the large $N$ saddle points of two SYK chains coupled by an interaction that is nonlocal in Euclidean time. We start from analytic treatment of the free case with $q=2$ and perform the numerical study of the interacting case $q=4$. We show that in both cases there is a nontrivial phase structure with infinite number of phases. Every phase correspond to a saddle point in the non-interacting two-replica SYK. The nontrivial saddle points have non-zero value of the replica-nondiagonal correlator in the sense of quasi-averaging, when the coupling between replicas is turned off. Thus, the nonlocal interaction between replicas provides a protocol for turning the nonperturbatively subleading effects in SYK into non-equilibrium configurations which dominate at large $N$. For comparison we also study two SYK chains with local interaction for $q=2$ and $q=4$. We show that the $q=2$ model also has a similar phase structure, whereas in the $q=4$ model, dual to the traversable wormhole, the phase structure is different.

A self-regulatory genetic circuit, where a protein acts as a positive regulator of its own production, is known to be the simplest biological network with a positive feedback loop. Although at least three components—DNA, RNA, and the protein—are required to form such a circuit, stability analysis of the fixed points of this self-regulatory circuit has been performed only after reducing the system to a two-component system, either by assuming a fast equilibration of the DNA component or by removing the RNA component. Here, stability of the fixed points of the three-component positive feedback loop is analyzed by obtaining eigenvalues of the full three-dimensional Hessian matrix. In addition to rigorously identifying the stable fixed points and saddle points, detailed information about the system can be obtained, such as the existence of complex eigenvalues near a fixed point.

We show that the analytic multidimensional semiclassical tunneling formula of Miller et al. [Miller, W. H.; Hernandez, R.; Handy, N. C.; Jayatilaka, D.; Willets, A. Chem. Phys. Lett. 1990, 172, 62] is qualitatively incorrect for deep tunneling at energies well below the top of the barrier. The origin of this deficiency is that the formula uses an effective barrier weakly related to the true energetics but correctly adjusted to reproduce the harmonic description and anharmonic corrections of the reaction path at the saddle point as determined by second order vibrational perturbation theory. We present an analytic improved semiclassical formula that correctly includes energetic information and allows a qualitatively correct representation of deep tunneling. This is done by constructing a three segment composite Eckart potential that is continuous everywhere in both value and derivative. This composite potential has an analytic barrier penetration integral from which the semiclassical action can be derived and then used to define the semiclassical tunneling probability. The middle segment of the composite potential by itself is superior to the original formula of Miller et al. because it incorporates the asymmetry of the reaction barrier produced by the known reaction exoergicity. Comparison of the semiclassical and exact quantum tunneling probability for the pure Eckart potential suggests a simple threshold multiplicative factor to the improved formula to account for quantum effects very near threshold not represented by semiclassical theory. The deep tunneling limitations of the original formula are echoed in semiclassical high-energy descriptions of bound vibrational states perpendicular to the reaction path at the saddle point. However, typically ab initio energetic information is not available to correct it. The Supporting Information contains a Fortran code, test input, and test output that implements the improved semiclassical tunneling formula.

This paper considers the problem of understanding the exit time for trajectories of gradient-related first-order methods from saddle neighborhoods under some initial boundary conditions. Given the ‘flat’ geometry around saddle points, first-order methods can struggle to escape these regions in a fast manner due to the small magnitudes of gradients encountered. In particular, while it is known that gradient-related first-order methods escape strict-saddle neighborhoods, existing analytic techniques do not explicitly leverage the local geometry around saddle points in order to control behavior of gradient trajectories. It is in this context that this paper puts forth a rigorous geometric analysis of the gradient-descent method around strict-saddle neighborhoods using matrix perturbation theory. In doing so, it provides a key result that can be used to generate an approximate gradient trajectory for any given initial conditions. In addition, the analysis leads to a linear exit-time solution for gradient-descent method under certain necessary initial conditions, which explicitly bring out the dependence on problem dimension, conditioning of the saddle neighborhood, and more, for a class of strict-saddle functions.

There are two well-known approaches to studying nonperturbative aspects of quantum mechanical systems: saddle point analysis of the partition functions in Euclidean path integral formulation and the exact-WKB analysis based on the wave functions in the Schrödinger equation. In this work, based on the quantization conditions obtained from the exact-WKB method, we determine the relations between the two formalism and in particular show how the two Stokes phenomena are connected to each other: the Stokes phenomenon leading to the ambiguous contribution of different sectors of the path integral formulation corresponds to the change of the “topology” of the Stoke curves in the exact-WKB analysis. We also clarify the equivalence of different quantization conditions including Bohr-Sommerfeld, path integral and Gutzwiller’s ones. In particular, by reorganizing the exact quantization condition, we improve Gutzwiller’s analysis in a crucial way by bion contributions (incorporating complex periodic paths) and turn it into an exact result. Furthermore, we argue the novel meaning of quasi-moduli integral and provide a relation between the Maslov index and the intersection number of Lefschetz thimbles.