CFT Constraints on Parity-odd Interactions with Axions and Dilatons

Abstract

We illustrate how the conformal Ward identities (CWIs) in momentum space completely determine the structure of a parity-odd 3-point correlator involving currents, energy momentum tensors and at least one scalar operator in $d=4$. Conformal invariance fixes almost all such possible correlators to vanish. The only exceptions are given by the $\langle JJO\rangle_{odd}$ and the $\langle TTO \rangle_{odd}$ which in momentum-space are protected by chiral and conformal anomalies. Specifically, one can obtain a non-vanishing solution by considering scalar operators such as $O=\nabla \cdot J_A$, $O=g_{\mu\nu}T^{\mu\nu}$ or their shadow transforms. We comment on the implications of these results that constrain the coupling of axions and dilatons in a conformal phase of the early universe.