Unanswered Questions
48,240 questions with no upvoted or accepted answers
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Orbits of maximally entangled mixed states
It is well known (Geometry of quantum states by Bengtsson and Życzkowski) that the set of $N$-dimensional density matrices is stratified by the adjoint action of $U(N)$, where each stratum corresponds ...
69
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1
answer
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On the Coulomb branch of ${\cal N}=2$ supersymmetric gauge theory
The chiral ring of the Coulomb branch of a 4D ${\cal N}=2$ supersymmetric gauge theory is given by the Casimirs of the vector multiplet scalars, and they don't have non-trivial relations; the Casimirs ...
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63
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How to apply the Faddeev-Popov method to a simple integral
Some time ago I was reviewing my knowledge on QFT and I came across the question of Faddeev-Popov ghosts. At the time I was studying thеse matters, I used the book of Faddeev and Slavnov, but the ...
57
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Systematic approach to deriving equations of collective field theory to any order
The collective field theory (see nLab for a list of main historical references) which came up as a generalization of the Bohm-Pines method in treating plasma oscillations often used in the study of ...
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52
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Can Lee-Yang zeros theorem account for triple point phase transition?
Now the prominent Lee-Yang theorem (or Physical Review 87, 410, 1952) has almost become a standard ingredient of any comprehensive statistical mechanics textbook.
If the volume tends to infinity, ...
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41
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Positivity for the level of Chern-Simons theory
In many classical papers about Chern-Simons theory (see, e.g. [1]),
it is claimed that the Chern-Simons theories with gauge group $G$ are classified by an element of $k\in H^4(BG,\mathbb Z)$, the so-...
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31
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1
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Minimal strings and topological strings
In this study Dijkgraaf and Vafa showed that the closed string partition function of the topological B-model on a Calabi-Yau of the form $uv-H(x,y)=0$ coincides with the free energy of a certain ...
28
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Electric charges on compact four-manifolds
Textbook wisdom in electromagnetism tells you that there is no total electric charge on a compact manifold. For example, consider space-time of the form $\mathbb{R} \times M_3$ where the first factor ...
CommunityBot
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28
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Extended Born relativity, Nambu 3-form and ternary ($n$-ary) symmetry
Background: Classical Mechanics is based on the Poincare-Cartan two-form
$$\omega_2=dx\wedge dp$$
where $p=\dot{x}$. Quantum mechanics is secretly a subtle modification of this. On the other hand, the ...
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28
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Quantum statistics of branes
Quantum statistics of particles (bosons, fermions, anyons) arise due to the possible topologies of curves in $D$-dimensional spacetime winding around each other
What happens if we replace particles ...
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27
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$p$-Adic String Theory and the String-orientation of Topological Modular Forms (tmf)
I am going to ask a question, at the end below, on whether anyone has tried to make more explicit what should be a close relation between p-adic string theory and the refinement of the superstring ...
24
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Why does analytic continuation as a regularization work at all?
The question is about why analytical continuation as a regularization scheme works at all, and whether there are some physical justifications. However, as this is a relatively general question, I ...
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Super Lie-infinity algebra of closed superstring field theory?
Bosonic closed string field theory is famously governed by a Lie n-algebra for $n = \infty$ whose $k$-ary bracket is given by the genus-0 (k+1)-point function in the BRST complex of the string.
One ...
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TQFTs and Feynman motives
Questions
Is a topological quantum field theory metrizable? Or else a TQFT coming from a subfactor?
For a given metric, are there always renormalization and Feynman diagrams?
Is there always a Feynman ...
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Where does the Berry phase of $\pi$ come from in a topological insulator?
The Berry connection and the Berry phase should be related. Now for a topological insulator (TI) (or to be more precise, for a quantum spin hall state, but I think the Chern parities are calculated in ...
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