Showing papers on "AdS/CFT correspondence published in 2015"

Holographic quantum error-correcting codes: Toy models for the bulk/boundary correspondence

Abstract: We propose a family of exactly solvable toy models for the AdS/CFT correspondence based on a novel construction of quantum error-correcting codes with a tensor network structure. Our building block is a special type of tensor with maximal entanglement along any bipartition, which gives rise to an isometry from the bulk Hilbert space to the boundary Hilbert space. The entire tensor network is an encoder for a quantum error-correcting code, where the bulk and boundary degrees of freedom may be identified as logical and physical degrees of freedom respectively. These models capture key features of entanglement in the AdS/CFT correspondence; in particular, the Ryu-Takayanagi formula and the negativity of tripartite information are obeyed exactly in many cases. That bulk logical operators can be represented on multiple boundary regions mimics the Rindlerwedge reconstruction of boundary operators from bulk operators, realizing explicitly the quantum error-correcting features of AdS/CFT recently proposed in [1].

Models of AdS2 backreaction and holography

Abstract: We develop models of 1+1 dimensional dilaton gravity describing flows to AdS2 from higher dimensional AdS and other spaces. We use these to study the effects of backreaction on holographic correlators. We show that this scales as a relevant effect at low energies, for compact transverse spaces. We also discuss effects of matter loops, as in the CGHS model.

Bulk Locality and Quantum Error Correction in AdS/CFT

Abstract: We point out a connection between the emergence of bulk locality in AdS/CFT and the theory of quantum error correction. Bulk notions such as Bogoliubov transformations, location in the radial direction, and the holographic entropy bound all have natural CFT interpretations in the language of quantum error correction. We also show that the question of whether bulk operator reconstruction works only in the causal wedge or all the way to the extremal surface is related to the question of whether or not the quantum error correcting code realized by AdS/CFT is also a “quantum secret sharing scheme”, and suggest a tensor network calculation that may settle the issue. Interestingly, the version of quantum error correction which is best suited to our analysis is the somewhat nonstandard “operator algebra quantum error correction” of Beny, Kempf, and Kribs. Our proposal gives a precise formulation of the idea of “subregion-subregion” duality in AdS/CFT, and clarifies the limits of its validity.

Stringy effects in scrambling

Abstract: In [1] we gave a precise holographic calculation of chaos at the scrambling time scale. We studied the influence of a small perturbation, long in the past, on a two-sided correlation function in the thermofield double state. A similar analysis applies to squared commutators and other out-of-time-order one-sided correlators [2-6]. The essential bulk physics is a high energy scattering problem near the horizon of an AdS black hole. The above papers used Einstein gravity to study this problem; in the present paper we consider stringy and Planckian corrections. Elastic stringy corrections play an important role, effectively weakening and smearing out the development of chaos. We discuss their signature in the boundary field theory, commenting on the extension to weak coupling. Inelastic effects, although important for the evolution of the state, leave a parametrically small imprint on the correlators that we study. We briefly discuss ways to diagnose these small corrections, and we propose another correlator where inelastic effects are order one.

Virasoro Conformal Blocks and Thermality from Classical Background Fields

Abstract: We show that in 2d CFTs at large central charge, the coupling of the stress tensor to heavy operators can be re-absorbed by placing the CFT in a non-trivial background metric. This leads to a more precise computation of the Virasoro conformal blocks between heavy and light operators, which are shown to be equivalent to global conformal blocks evaluated in the new background. We also generalize to the case where the operators carry U(1) charges. The refined Virasoro blocks can be used as the seed for a new Virasoro block recursion relation expanded in the heavy-light limit. We comment on the implications of our results for the universality of black hole thermality in AdS3, or equivalently, the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis for CFT2 at large central charge.

Holographic Entanglement Entropy from 2d CFT: Heavy States and Local Quenches

Abstract: We consider the entanglement entropy in 2d conformal field theory in a class of excited states produced by the insertion of a heavy local operator. These include both high-energy eigenstates of the Hamiltonian and time-dependent local quenches. We compute the universal contribution from the stress tensor to the single interval Renyi entropies and entanglement entropy, and conjecture that this dominates the answer in theories with a large central charge and a sparse spectrum of low-dimension operators. The resulting entanglement entropies agree precisely with holographic calculations in three-dimensional gravity. High-energy eigenstates are dual to microstates of the BTZ black hole, so the corresponding holographic calculation is a geodesic length in the black hole geometry; agreement between these two answers demonstrates that these individual microstates of holographic CFTs effectively thermalize at the level of the single-interval entanglement entropy. For local quenches, the dual geometry is a highly boosted black hole or conical defect. On the CFT side, the rise in entanglement entropy after a quench is directly related to the monodromy of a Virasoro conformal block.

6d Conformal matter

Abstract: A single M5-brane probing G, an ADE-type singularity, leads to a system which has G × G global symmetry and can be viewed as “bifundamental” (G, G) matter. For the A N series, this leads to the usual notion of bifundamental matter. For the other cases it corresponds to a strongly interacting (1, 0) superconformal system in six dimensions. Similarly, an ADE singularity intersecting the Hořava-Witten wall leads to a superconformal matter system with E 8 × G global symmetry. Using the F-theory realization of these theories, we elucidate the Coulomb/tensor branch of (G, G′) conformal matter. This leads to the notion of fractionalization of an M5-brane on an ADE singularity as well as fractionalization of the intersection point of the ADE singularity with the Hořava-Witten wall. Partial Higgsing of these theories leads to new 6d SCFTs in the infrared, which we also characterize. This generalizes the class of (1, 0) theories which can be perturbatively realized by suspended branes in IIA string theory. By reducing on a circle, we arrive at novel duals for 5d affine quiver theories. Introducing many M5-branes leads to large N gravity duals.

Quantum spectral curve for arbitrary state/operator in AdS 5 /CFT 4

Abstract: We give a derivation of quantum spectral curve (QSC) - a finite set of Riemann-Hilbert equations for exact spectrum of planar N = 4 SYM theory proposed in our recent paper Phys. Rev. Lett. 112 (201 ...

Momentum dissipation and effective theories of coherent and incoherent transport

Abstract: We study heat transport in two systems without momentum conservation: a hydrodynamic system, and a holographic system with spatially dependent, massless scalar fields. When momentum dissipates slowly, there is a well-defined, coherent collective excitation in the AC heat conductivity, and a crossover between sound-like and diffusive transport at small and large distance scales. When momentum dissipates quickly, there is no such excitation in the incoherent AC heat conductivity, and diffusion dominates at all distance scales. For a critical value of the momentum dissipation rate, we compute exact expressions for the Green’s functions of our holographic system due to an emergent gravitational self-duality, similar to electric/magnetic duality, and SL(2, $$ \mathrm{\mathbb{R}} $$ ) symmetries. We extend the coherent/incoherent classification to examples of charge transport in other holographic systems: probe brane theories and neutral theories with non-Maxwell actions.

Holographic entanglement entropy and the extended phase structure of STU black holes

Abstract: We study the extended thermodynamics, obtained by considering the cosmological constant as a thermodynamic variable, of STU black holes in 4-dimensions in the fixed charge ensemble. The associated phase structure is conjectured to be dual to an RG-flow on the space of field theories. We find that for some charge configurations the phase structure resembles that of a Van der Waals gas: the system exhibits a family of first order phase transitions ending in a second order phase transition at a critical temperature. We calculate the holographic entanglement entropy for several charge configurations and show that for the cases where the gravity background exhibits Van der Waals behavior, the entanglement entropy presents a transition at the same critical temperature. To further characterize the phase transition we calculate appropriate critical exponents and show that they coincide. Thus, the entanglement entropy successfully captures the information of the extended phase structure. Finally, we discuss the physical interpretation of the extended space in terms of the boundary QFT and construct various holographic heat engines dual to STU black holes.

Quartic AdS interactions in higher-spin gravity from Conformal Field Theory

Abstract: Clarifying the locality properties of higher-spin gravity is a pressing task, but notoriously difficult due to the absence of a weakly-coupled flat regime. The simplest non-trivial case where this question can be addressed is the quartic self-interaction of the AdS scalar field present in the higher-spin multiplet. We investigate this issue in the context of the holographic duality between the minimal bosonic higher-spin theory on AdS4 and the free O(N) vector model in three dimensions. In particular, we determine the exact explicit form of the derivative expansion of the bulk scalar quartic vertex. The quartic vertex is obtained from the field theory four-point function of the operator dual to the bulk scalar, by making use of our previous results for the Witten diagrams of higher-spin exchanges. This is facilitated by establishing the conformal block expansions of both the boundary four-point function and the dual bulk Witten diagram amplitudes. We show that the vertex we find satisfies a generalised notion of locality.

Distance between Quantum States and Gauge-Gravity Duality

Abstract: We study a quantum information metric (or fidelity susceptibility) in conformal field theories with respect to a small perturbation by a primary operator. We argue that its gravity dual is approximately given by a volume of maximal time slice in an anti-de Sitter spacetime when the perturbation is exactly marginal. We confirm our claim in several examples.

Supersymmetric Wilson loops in N=6 super-Chern–Simons-matter theory

Abstract: We investigate the supersymmetric Wilson loops in d = 3 N = 4 super Chern-Simons-matter theory obtained from non-chiral orbifold of ABJM theory. We work in both Minkowski spacetime and Euclidean space, and we construct 1/4 and 1/2 BPS Wilson loops. We also provide a complete proof that the difference between 1/4 and 1/2 Wilson loops is Q-exact with Q being some supercharge that is preserved by both the 1/4 and 1/2 Wilson loops. This plays an important role in applying the localization techniques to compute the vacuum expectation values of Wilson loops. We also study the M-theory dual of the 1/2 BPS circular Wilson loop.

Habemus superstratum! A constructive proof of the existence of superstrata

Abstract: We construct the first example of a superstratum: a class of smooth horizonless supergravity solutions that are parameterized by arbitrary continuous functions of (at least) two variables and have the same charges as the supersymmetric D1-D5-P black hole. We work in Type IIB string theory on T 4 or K3 and our solutions involve a subset of fields that can be described by a six-dimensional supergravity with two tensor multiplets. The solutions can thus be constructed using a linear structure, and we give an explicit recipe to start from a superposition of modes specified by an arbitrary function of two variables and impose regularity to obtain the full horizonless solutions in closed form. We also give the precise CFT description of these solutions and show that they are not dual to descendants of chiral primaries. They are thus much more general than all the known solutions whose CFT dual is precisely understood. Hence our construction represents a substantial step toward the ultimate goal of constructing the fully generic superstratum that can account for a finite fraction of the entropy of the three-charge black hole in the regime of parameters where the classical black hole solution exists.

Entanglement scrambling in 2d conformal field theory

Abstract: We investigate how entanglement spreads in time-dependent states of a 1+1 dimensional conformal field theory (CFT). The results depend qualitatively on the value of the central charge. In rational CFTs, which have central charge below a critical value, entanglement entropy behaves as if correlations were carried by free quasiparticles. This leads to long-term memory effects, such as spikes in the mutual information of widely separated regions at late times. When the central charge is above the critical value, the quasiparticle picture fails. Assuming no extended symmetry algebra, any theory with c > 1 has diminished memory effects compared to the rational models. In holographic CFTs, with c ≫ 1, these memory effects are eliminated altogether at strong coupling, but reappear after the scrambling time t ≳ β log c at weak coupling.

String Theory Origin of Dyonic N=8 Supergravity and Its Chern-Simons Duals.

Abstract: We clarify the higher-dimensional origin of a class of dyonic gaugings of D=4 N=8 supergravity recently discovered, when the gauge group is chosen to be ISO(7). This dyonically gauged maximal supergravity arises from consistent truncation of massive IIA supergravity on S^6, and its magnetic coupling constant descends directly from the Romans mass. The critical points of the supergravity uplift to new four-dimensional anti-de Sitter space (AdS4) massive type IIA vacua. We identify the corresponding three-dimensional conformal field theory (CFT3) duals as super-Chern-Simons-matter theories with simple gauge group SU(N) and level k given by the Romans mass. In particular, we find a critical point that uplifts to the first explicit N=2 AdS4 massive IIA background. We compute its free energy and that of the candidate dual Chern-Simons theory by localization to a solvable matrix model, and find perfect agreement. This provides the first AdS4/CFT3 precision match in massive type IIA string theory.

Continuous Multiscale Entanglement Renormalization Ansatz as Holographic Surface-State Correspondence

Abstract: We present how the surface-state correspondence, conjectured by Miyaji and Takayanagi, works in the setup of AdS(3)/CFT(2) by generalizing the formulation of a continuous multiscale entanglement renormalization group ansatz. The boundary states in conformal field theories play a crucial role in our formulation and the bulk diffeomorphism is naturally taken into account. We give an identification of bulk local operators which reproduces correct scalar field solutions on AdS(3) and bulk scalar propagators. We also calculate the information metric for a locally excited state and show that it reproduces the time slice of AdS(3).

Surface/State Correspondence as a Generalized Holography

Abstract: We propose a new duality relation between codimension two space-like surfaces in gravitational theories and quantum states in dual Hilbert spaces. This surface/state correspondence largely generalizes the idea of holography such that we do not need to rely on any existence of boundaries in gravitational spacetimes. The present idea is motivated by the recent interpretation of AdS/CFT in terms of the tensor networks so called MERA. Moreover, we study this correspondence from the viewpoint of entanglement entropy and information metric. The Cramer-Rao bound in quantum estimation theory implies that the quantum fluctuations of radial coordinate of the AdS is highly suppressed in the large N limit.

Semiclassical Virasoro blocks from AdS3 gravity

Abstract: We present a unified framework for the holographic computation of Virasoro conformal blocks at large central charge. In particular, we provide bulk constructions that correctly reproduce all semiclassical Virasoro blocks that are known explicitly from conformal field theory computations. The results revolve around the use of geodesic Witten diagrams, recently introduced in [1], evaluated in locally AdS3 geometries generated by backreaction of heavy operators. We also provide an alternative computation of the heavy-light semiclassical block — in which two external operators become parametrically heavy — as a certain scattering process involving higher spin gauge fields in AdS3; this approach highlights the chiral nature of Virasoro blocks. These techniques may be systematically extended to compute corrections to these blocks and to interpolate amongst the different semiclassical regimes.

Entwinement and the emergence of spacetime

Abstract: It is conventional to study the entanglement between spatial regions of a quantum field theory. However, in some systems entanglement can be dominated by “internal”, possibly gauged, degrees of freedom that are not spatially organized, and that can give rise to gaps smaller than the inverse size of the system. In a holographic context, such small gaps are associated to the appearance of horizons and singularities in the dual spacetime. Here, we propose a concept of entwinement, which is intended to capture this fine structure of the wavefunction. Holographically, entwinement probes the entanglement shadow — the region of spacetime not probed by the minimal surfaces that compute spatial entanglement in the dual field theory. We consider the simplest example of this scenario — a 2d conformal field theory (CFT) that is dual to a conical defect in AdS3 space. Following our previous work, we show that spatial entanglement in the CFT reproduces spacetime geometry up to a finite distance from the conical defect. We then show that the interior geometry up to the defect can be reconstructed from entwinement that is sensitive to the discretely gauged, fractionated degrees of freedom of the CFT. Entwinement in the CFT is related to non-minimal geodesics in the conical defect geometry, suggesting a potential quantum information theoretic meaning for these objects in a holographic context. These results may be relevant for the reconstruction of black hole interiors from a dual field theory.

Quantum Entanglement of Localized Excited States at Finite Temperature

Abstract: In this work we study the time evolutions of (Renyi) entanglement entropy of locally excited states in two dimensional conformal field theories (CFTs) at finite temperature. We consider excited states created by acting with local operators on thermal states and give both field theoretic and holographic calculations. In free field CFTs, we find that the growth of Renyi entanglement entropy at finite temperature is reduced compared to the zero temperature result by a small quantity proportional to the width of the localized excitations. On the other hand, in finite temperature CFTs with classical gravity duals, we find that the entanglement entropy approaches a characteristic value at late time. This behaviour does not occur at zero temperature. We also study the mutual information between the two CFTs in the thermofield double (TFD) formulation and give physical interpretations of our results.

Universality of Corner Entanglement in Conformal Field Theories.

Abstract: We study the contribution to the entanglement entropy of (2+1)-dimensional conformal field theories (CFTs) coming from a sharp corner in the entangling surface This contribution is encoded in a function a(θ) of the corner opening angle, and was recently proposed as a measure of the degrees of freedom in the underlying CFT We show that the ratio a(θ)/C(T), where C(T) is the central charge in the stress tensor correlator, is an almost universal quantity for a broad class of theories including various higher-curvature holographic models, free scalars, and fermions, and Wilson-Fisher fixed points of the O(N) models with N=1,2,3 Strikingly, the agreement between these different theories becomes exact in the limit θ→π, where the entangling surface approaches a smooth curve We thus conjecture that the corresponding ratio is universal for general CFTs in three dimensions

Worldline approach to semi-classical conformal blocks

Abstract: We extend recent results on semi-classical conformal blocks in 2d CFT and their relation to 3D gravity via the AdS/CFT correspondence. We consider four-point functions with two heavy and two light external operators, along with the exchange of a light operator. By explicit computation, we establish precise agreement between these CFT objects and a simple picture of particle worldlines joined by cubic vertices propagating in asymptotically AdS3 geometries (conical defects or BTZ black holes). We provide a simple argument that explains this agreement.

One-point functions in defect CFT and integrability

Abstract: We calculate planar tree level one-point functions of non-protected operators in the defect conformal field theory dual to the D3-D5 brane system with k units of the world volume flux. Working in t ...

Analytic bootstrap at large spin

Abstract: We use analytic conformal bootstrap methods to determine the anomalous dimensions and OPE coefficients for large spin operators in general conformal field theories in four dimensions containing a scalar operator of conformal dimension Δ ϕ . It is known that such theories will contain an infinite sequence of large spin operators with twists approaching 2Δ ϕ + 2n for each integer n. By considering the case where such operators are separated by a twist gap from other operators at large spin, we analytically determine the n, Δ ϕ dependence of the anomalous dimensions. We find that for all n, the anomalous dimensions are negative for Δ ϕ satisfying the unitarity bound. We further compute the first subleading correction at large spin and show that it becomes universal for large twist. In the limit when n is large, we find exact agreement with the AdS/CFT prediction corresponding to the Eikonal limit of a 2-2 scattering with dominant graviton exchange.

Local Operators in the Eternal Black Hole

Abstract: In the AdS/CFT correspondence, states obtained by Hamiltonian evolution of the thermofield doubled state are also dual to an eternal black-hole geometry, which is glued to the boundary with a time shift generated by a large diffeomorphism. We describe gauge-invariant relational observables that probe the black hole interior in these states and constrain their properties using effective field theory. By adapting recent versions of the information paradox we show that these observables are necessarily described by state-dependent bulk-boundary maps, which we construct explicitly.

Towards holographic higher-spin interactions: four-point functions and higher-spin exchange

Abstract: Within holography, we calculate the contribution of an arbitrary spin-s gauge boson exchange in AdS d+1 to the four-point function with scalar operators on the boundary. As an important ingredient, we first compute the complete bulk-to-bulk propagators for massless bosonic higher-spin fields in the metric-like formulation, in any dimension and in various gauges. The split representation of the bulk-to-bulk propagators in terms of bulk-to-boundary propagators allows to present the higher-spin exchange diagram in the form of a conformal partial wave expansion. Our results provide a step towards the larger goal of the holographic reconstruction of bulk interactions, and of clarifying bulk locality.

Phase transition and thermodynamical geometry for Schwarzschild AdS black hole in AdS5 × S5 spacetime

Abstract: We study the thermodynamics and thermodynamic geometry of a five-dimensional Schwarzschild AdS black hole in AdS 5 × S 5 spacetime by treating the cosmological constant as the number of colors in the boundary gauge theory and its conjugate quantity as the associated chemical potential. It is found that the chemical potential is always negative in the stable branch of black hole thermodynamics and it has a chance to be positive, but appears in the unstable branch. We calculate the scalar curvatures of the thermodynamical Weinhold metric, Ruppeiner metric and Quevedo metric, respectively and we find that the scalar curvature in the Weinhold metric is always vanishing, while in the Ruppeiner metric the divergence of the scalar curvature is related to the divergence of the heat capacity with fixed chemical potential, and in the Quevedo metric the divergence of the scalar curvature is related to the divergence of the heat capacity with fixed number of colors and to the vanishing of the heat capacity with fixed chemical potential.

Incoherent transport in clean quantum critical metals

Abstract: In a clean quantum critical metal, and in the absence of umklapp, most d.c. conductivities are formally infinite due to momentum conservation. However, there is a particular combination of the charge and heat currents which has a finite, universal conductivity. In this paper, we describe the physics of this conductivity σ Q in quantum critical metals obtained by charge doping a strongly interacting conformal field theory. We show that it satisfies an Einstein relation and controls the diffusivity of a conserved charge in the metal. We compute σ Q in a class of theories with holographic gravitational duals. Finally, we show how the temperature scaling of σ Q depends on certain critical exponents characterizing the quantum critical metal. The holographic results are found to be reproduced by the scaling analysis, with the charge density operator becoming marginal in the emergent low energy quantum critical theory.

Virasoro conformal blocks in closed form

Abstract: Virasoro conformal blocks are fixed in principle by symmetry, but a closed-form expression is unknown in the general case. In this work, we provide two new closed-form expansions for the four-point Virasoro blocks on the sphere, for arbitrary operator dimensions and central charge c. We do so by solving known recursion relations. One representation is a sum over hypergeometric global blocks, whose coefficients we provide at arbitrary level. The other is a sum over semiclassical Virasoro blocks obtained in the limit in which two external operator dimensions scale linearly with large c. In both cases, the 1/c expansion of the Virasoro blocks is easily extracted. We discuss applications of these expansions to entanglement and thermality in conformal field theories and particle scattering in three-dimensional quantum gravity.