hep-th papers | Gist.Science

Hep-Th, or high-energy theoretical physics, explores the fundamental building blocks of our universe and the forces that govern them. Researchers in this field use complex mathematics to understand everything from subatomic particles to the behavior of black holes, often pushing the boundaries of what we know about space and time.

At Gist.Science, we monitor the arXiv repository to ensure you stay ahead of the curve in this rapidly evolving discipline. For every new preprint uploaded to arXiv under this category, our team generates both accessible plain-language overviews and detailed technical summaries, making cutting-edge research understandable regardless of your background.

Below are the latest papers in high-energy theoretical physics, curated to help you navigate the most significant recent discoveries.

Signatures of quantum chaos and complexity in the Ising model on random graphs

This paper investigates signatures of quantum chaos in the mixed-field Ising model on Erdős-Rényi graphs by demonstrating a connectivity-driven crossover from localization to chaos and back to integrability, characterizing this transition through experimentally scalable probes like deep thermalization and the partial spectral form factor, alongside Krylov complexity, to provide benchmarks for near-term quantum devices.

GJ Sreejith, Sandipan Manna2026-03-26⚛️ hep-th

Variations of the crossover and first-order phase transition curve in modeling the QCD equation of state

This paper presents a method to construct a smooth QCD equation of state that incorporates a critical point and a first-order phase transition line terminating at it, while ensuring consistency with lattice QCD results, experimental heavy-ion collision data, and the expected 3D Ising universality class critical behavior.

Joseph I. Kapusta, Shensong Wan2026-03-26⚛️ nucl-th

Observable Optimization for Precision Theory: Machine Learning Energy Correlators

This paper demonstrates how machine learning-based simulation techniques can systematically optimize precision-theory-compatible observables, specifically identifying that isosceles right-triangle energy 3-point correlators maximize sensitivity to the top quark mass while remaining computable to high precision.

Arindam Bhattacharya, Katherine Fraser, Matthew D. Schwartz2026-03-26⚛️ hep-ph

New Crosscap States

This paper argues for the existence of new crosscap states in two-dimensional rational conformal field theories labeled by Verlinde lines, supporting this claim with a generalized Cardy condition and exploring their transformation properties and connections to mixed anomalies.

Wataru Harada, Justin Kaidi, Yuya Kusuki, Yuefeng Liu2026-03-26⚛️ hep-th

Critical Majorana fermion at a topological quantum Hall bilayer transition

Using fuzzy sphere regularization, this paper provides the first unbiased microscopic verification that the topological quantum Hall bilayer transition between the Halperin state and the Moore-Read Pfaffian is driven by a neutral fermion gap closing and is described by a 3D gauged Majorana conformal field theory.

Cristian Voinea, Wei Zhu, Nicolas Regnault, Zlatko Papic2026-03-26🔬 cond-mat.mes-hall

Boundary Actions and Loop Groups: A Geometric Picture of Gauge Symmetries at Null Infinity

This paper establishes an explicit boundary action and a geometric framework based on loop groups and principal bundle extensions to derive and renormalize charges associated with large gauge symmetries at null infinity, thereby providing a first-principles derivation of sub-leading soft theorems in Yang-Mills theory.

Silvia Nagy, Javier Peraza, Giorgio Pizzolo2026-03-26🔢 math-ph

Orthosymplectic Chern-Simons Matter Theories: Global Forms, Dualities, and Vacua

This paper proposes a magnetic quiver framework derived from Type IIB brane setups with O3 planes to study the maximal branches of 3d orthosymplectic Chern-Simons matter theories with $\mathcal{N} \geq 3$ supersymmetry, utilizing supersymmetric indices and Hilbert series to determine global gauge group data and predict moduli spaces.

Fabio Marino, Sinan Moura Soysüren, Marcus Sperling2026-03-26⚛️ hep-th

NNLO QCD corrections to $\gamma \gamma \rightarrow Q\bar{Q}$ from Local Unitarity combined with Coulomb resummation and NLO EW effects

This paper presents state-of-the-art NNLO QCD predictions for heavy-quark pair production in direct photon fusion by applying the Local Unitarity formalism to handle infrared singularities and combining these results with NLO electroweak corrections and NLP Coulomb resummation for top, bottom, and charm quarks.

Zeno Capatti, Mathijs Fraaije, Valentin Hirschi, Lucien Huber, Ben Ruijl, Hua-Sheng Shao2026-03-26⚛️ hep-ex

Thermoelectric Conduction in General Relativity: A Causal, Stable, and Well Posed Theory

This paper presents a causal, stable, and well-posed first-order framework for thermoelectric conduction in curved spacetime, which is used to analyze relativistic gravitothermoelectric effects in accelerating metals and derive a relativistic Thomas-Fermi equation for charge distribution in compact astrophysical objects.

Lorenzo Gavassino2026-03-26⚛️ nucl-th

Renormalization of Chern-Simons Wilson Loops via Flux Quantization in Cohomotopy

This paper demonstrates that the renormalization choices for Wilson loop observables in abelian Chern-Simons theory naturally emerge from a non-Lagrangian topological completion of 5D Maxwell-Chern-Simons QFT via flux quantization in 2-Cohomotopy, serving as a foundational model for understanding similar mechanisms in topologically ordered materials and 11D supergravity.

Hisham Sati, Urs Schreiber2026-03-26🔢 math-ph

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