A Tale of Two Compact Bosons

Abstract

Neural network field theory (NN-FT) defines a field theory by a network architecture together with a probability density on its latent variables. For compact theories the local Gaussian sector is only part of the story: one must also sum over discrete topological sectors. We review a mixed continuous/discrete latent-variable construction and apply it to two compact bosons. For the Berezinskii--Kosterlitz--Thouless transition, a random Fourier feature spin-wave sampler supplemented by an explicit Coulomb gas vortex sector reproduces the Gaussian critical line below $T_c$, vortex proliferation above $T_c$, the essential singularity of the correlation length, and the Nelson--Kosterlitz jump. For the bosonic string, oscillator modes augmented by momentum--winding labels reproduce circle T-duality, Buscher transformations on constant toroidal backgrounds, self-dual current algebra enhancement, and a toy T-fold. The common lesson is that the same local neural sampler, paired with different discrete topological data, yields physically distinct compact theories. These proceedings are based on arXiv:2604.02313.