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Abstract Scalar field theories with a shift symmetry come equipped with the K-mouflage (or kinetic screening) mechanism that suppresses the scalar interaction between massive objects below a certain distance, the screening radius. In this work, we study the linear response of the scalar field distribution around a screened (point-like) object subject to a long range external scalar field perturbation for the Dirac-Born-Infeld theory. We find that, for regular boundary conditions at the position of the particle, some multipoles have vanishing response for a lacunar series of the multipole order ℓ for any dimension. Some multipoles also exhibit a logarithmic running when the number of spatial dimensions is even. We construct a ladder operator structure, with its associated ladder symmetries, formed by two sets of ladders that are related to the properties of the linear response and the existence of conserved charges. Our results exhibit a remarkable resemblance with the Love numbers properties of black holes in General Relativity, although some intriguing differences subsist.

Abstract We describe a simple technique for generating solutions to the classical field equations for an arbitrary nonlinear sigma-model minimally coupled to gravity. The technique promotes an arbitrary solution to the coupled Einstein/Klein-Gordon field equations for a single scalar field σ to a solution of the nonlinear sigma-model for N scalar fields minimally coupled to gravity. This mapping between solutions does not require there to be any target-space isometries and exists for every choice of geodesic computed using the target-space metric. In some special situations — such as when the solution depends only on a single coordinate (e.g. for homogeneous time-dependent or static spherically symmetric configurations) — the general solution to the sigma-model equations can be obtained in this way. We illustrate the technique by applying it to generate Euclidean wormhole solutions for multi-field sigma models coupled to gravity starting from the simplest Giddings-Strominger wormhole, clarifying why in the wormhole case Minkowski-signature target-space geometries can arise. We reproduce in this way the well-known axio-dilaton string wormhole and we illustrate the power of the technique by generating simple perturbations to it, like those due to string or α′ corrections.

Abstract We consider a family of non-linear theories of electromagnetism that interpolate between Born-Infeld at small distances and the recently introduced ModMax at large distances. These models are duality invariant and feature a K-mouflage screening in the Born-Infeld regime. We focus on computing the static perturbations around a point-like screened charge in terms of two decoupled scalar potentials describing the polar and the axial sectors respectively. Duality invariance imposes that the propagation speed of the odd perturbations goes to zero as fast as the effective screened charge of the object, potentially leading to strong coupling and an obstruction to the viability of the EFT below the screened radius. We then consider the linear response to external fields and compute the electric polarisability and the magnetic susceptibility. Imposing regularity of the perturbations at the position of the particle, we find that the polarisability for the odd multipoles vanishes whilst for the magnetisation Born-Infeld emerges as the only theory with vanishing susceptibility for even multipoles. The perturbation equations factorise in terms of ladder operators connecting different multipoles. There are two such ladder structures for the even sector: one that acts as an automorphism between the first four multipoles and another one that connects multipoles separated by four units. When requiring a similar ladder structure for the odd sector, Born-Infeld arises again as the unique theory. We use this ladder structure to relate the vanishing of the polarisability and the susceptibility to the values of conserved charges. Finally the perturbation equations correspond to a supersymmetric quantum mechanical system such that the polar sector can be described in terms of Schrödinger’s equations with four generalised hyperbolic Pösch-Teller potentials whose eigenfunctions are in correspondence with the multipoles.