Boundary criticality of complex conformal field theory: A case study in the non-Hermitian 5-state Potts model, by Yin Tang, Qianyu Liu, Qicheng Tang, Wei Zhu

SciPost Physics Home Authoring Refereeing Submit a manuscript About Boundary criticality of complex conformal field theory: A case study in the non-Hermitian 5-state Potts model Yin Tang, Qianyu Liu, Qicheng Tang, Wei Zhu SciPost Phys. 19, 164 (2025) · published 24 December 2025 doi: 10.21468/SciPostPhys.19.6.164 pdf BiBTeX RIS Submissions/Reports Abstract Conformal fields with boundaries give rise to rich critical phenomena that can reveal information about the underlying conformality. While most existing studies focus on Hermitian systems, here we explore boundary critical phenomena in a non-Hermitian quantum 5-state Potts model which exhibits complex conformality in the bulk. We identify free, fixed and mixed conformal boundary conditions and observe the conformal tower structure of energy spectra, supporting the emergence of conformal boundary criticality. We also studied the duality relation between different conformal boundary conditions under the Kramers-Wannier transformation. These findings should facilitate a comprehensive understanding for complex CFTs and stimulate further exploration on the boundary critical phenomena within non-Hermitian strongly-correlated systems. × TY - JOURPB - SciPost FoundationDO - 10.21468/SciPostPhys.19.6.164TI - Boundary criticality of complex conformal field theory: A case study in the non-Hermitian 5-state Potts modelPY - 2025/12/24UR - https://scipost.org/SciPostPhys.19.6.164JF - SciPost PhysicsJA - SciPost Phys.VL - 19IS - 6SP - 164A1 - Tang, YinAU - Liu, QianyuAU - Tang, QichengAU - Zhu, WeiAB - Conformal fields with boundaries give rise to rich critical phenomena that can reveal information about the underlying conformality. While most existing studies focus on Hermitian systems, here we explore boundary critical phenomena in a non-Hermitian quantum 5-state Potts model which exhibits complex conformality in the bulk. We identify free, fixed and mixed conformal boundary conditions and observe the conformal tower structure of energy spectra, supporting the emergence of conformal boundary criticality. We also studied the duality relation between different conformal boundary conditions under the Kramers-Wannier transformation. These findings should facilitate a comprehensive understanding for complex CFTs and stimulate further exploration on the boundary critical phenomena within non-Hermitian strongly-correlated systems.ER - × @Article{10.21468/SciPostPhys.19.6.164, title={{Boundary criticality of complex conformal field theory: A case study in the non-Hermitian 5-state Potts model}}, author={Yin Tang and Qianyu Liu and Qicheng Tang and Wei Zhu}, journal={SciPost Phys.}, volume={19}, pages={164}, year={2025}, publisher={SciPost}, doi={10.21468/SciPostPhys.19.6.164}, url={https://scipost.org/10.21468/SciPostPhys.19.6.164},} Ontology / Topics See full Ontology or Topics database. Boundary conformal field theory Potts model Quantum criticality Authors / Affiliations: mappings to Contributors and Organizations See all Organizations. 1 2 Yin Tang, 1 Qianyu Liu, 3 Qicheng Tang, 1 Wei Zhu 1 西湖大学 / Westlake University [WIAS] 2 浙江大学 / Zhejiang University [ZJU] 3 Georgia Institute of Technology [GT] Funders for the research work leading to this publication National Key Research and Development Program of China (through Organization: Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China [MOST]) National Natural Science Foundation of China [NSFC] 西湖大学 / Westlake University [WIAS]