Publications

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Holographic Weyl anomaly in string theory

Lorenz Eberhardt, Sridip Pal

SciPost Phys. 16, 027 (2024) · published 24 January 2024 | · pdf

We compute the worldsheet sphere partition function of string theory on global AdS$_3$ with pure NS-NS flux. Because of an unfixed Möbius symmetry on the worldsheet, there is a cancellation of infinities and only a part of the answer is unambiguous. We show that it precisely reproduces the holographic Weyl anomaly and the ambiguous terms correspond to the possible counterterms of the boundary CFT.
Constraints on physical computers in holographic spacetimes

Aleksander M. Kubicki, Alex May, David Pérez-Garcia

SciPost Phys. 16, 024 (2024) · published 23 January 2024 | · pdf

Within the setting of the AdS/CFT correspondence, we ask about the power of computers in the presence of gravity. We show that there are computations on $n$ qubits which cannot be implemented inside of black holes with entropy less than $O(2^n)$. To establish our claim, we argue computations happening inside the black hole must be implementable in a programmable quantum processor, so long as the inputs and description of the unitary to be run are not too large. We then prove a bound on quantum processors which shows many unitaries cannot be implemented inside the black hole, and further show some of these have short descriptions and act on small systems. These unitaries with short descriptions must be computationally forbidden from happening inside the black hole.

1 citation
Decay channels for double extremal black holes in four dimensions

Johannes Aspman, Jan Manschot

SciPost Phys. 16, 021 (2024) · published 22 January 2024 | · pdf

We explore decay channels for charged black holes with vanishing temperature in $\mathcal{N}=2$ supersymmetric compactifications of string theory. If not protected by supersymmetry, such extremal black holes are expected to decay as a consequence of the weak gravity conjecture. We concentrate on double extremal, non-supersymmetric black holes for which the values of the scalar fields are constant throughout space-time, and explore decay channels for which decay into BPS and anti-BPS constituents is energetically favorable. We demonstrate the existence of decay channels at tree level for large families of double extremal black holes. For specific charges, we also find stable non-supersymmetric black holes, suggesting recombination of (anti)-supersymmetric constituents to a non-supersymmetric object.
Boundary description of microstates of the two-dimensional black hole

Amr Ahmadain, Alexander Frenkel, Krishnendu Ray, Ronak M. Soni

SciPost Phys. 16, 020 (2024) · published 22 January 2024 | · pdf

We identify the microstates of the non-supersymmetric, asymptotically flat 2d black hole in the dual c=1 matrix quantum mechanics (MQM). We calculate the partition function of the theory using Hamiltonian methods and reproduce one of two conflicting results found by Kazakov and Tseytlin. We find the entropy by counting states and the energy by approximately solving the Schrödinger equation. The dominant contribution to the partition function in the double-scaling limit is a novel bound state that can be considered an explicit dual of the black hole microstates. This bound state is long-lived and evaporates slowly, exactly like a black hole in asymptotically flat space.
Disorder in AdS$_3$/CFT$_2$

Moritz Dorband, Daniel Grumiller, René Meyer, Suting Zhao

SciPost Phys. 16, 017 (2024) · published 18 January 2024 | · pdf

We perturbatively study marginally relevant quenched disorder in AdS$_3$/CFT$_2$ to second order in the disorder strength. Using the Chern-Simons formulation of AdS$_3$ gravity for the Poincaré patch, we introduce disorder via the chemical potentials. We discuss the bulk and boundary properties resulting from the disorder-averaged metric. The disorder generates a small mass and angular momentum. In the bulk and the boundary, we find unphysical features due to the disorder average. Motivated by these features, we propose a Poincaré-Lindstedt-inspired resummation method. We discuss how this method enables us to remove all of the unphysical features and compare with other approaches to averaging.
Probabilistic deconstruction of a theory of gravity, part II: Curved space

Sunok Josephine Suh

SciPost Phys. 16, 012 (2024) · published 17 January 2024 | · pdf

We propose that the underlying context of holographic duality and the Ryu-Takayanagi formula is that the volume measure of spacetime is a probability measure constrained by quantum dynamics. We define quantum stochastic processes using joint quantum distributions which are realized in a quantum system as expectation values of products of projectors. In anti-de Sitter JT gravity, we show that Einstein's equations arise from the evolution of probability under the quantum stochastic process induced by the boundary, with the area of compactified space in the gravitational theory identified as a probability density evolving under the quantum process. Extrapolating these and related results in flat JT gravity found in [SciPost Phys. 15, 174 (2023)], we conjecture that general relativity arises in the semi-classical limit of the evolution of probability with respect to quantum stochastic processes.
States, symmetries and correlators of $T\bar{T}$ and $ J\bar{T} $ symmetric orbifolds

Soumangsu Chakraborty, Silvia Georgescu, Monica Guica

SciPost Phys. 16, 011 (2024) · published 10 January 2024 | · pdf

We derive various properties of symmetric product orbifolds of $T\bar T$ and $J\bar T$ - deformed CFTs from a field-theoretical perspective. First, we generalise the known formula for the torus partition function of a symmetric orbifold theory in terms of the one of the seed to non-conformal two-dimensional QFTs; specialising this to seed $T\bar T$ and $J\bar T$ - deformed CFTs reproduces previous results in the literature. Second, we show that the single-trace $T\bar T$ and $J\bar T$ deformations preserve the Virasoro and Kac-Moody symmetries of the undeformed symmetric product orbifold CFT, including their fractional counterparts, as well as the KdV charges. Finally, we discuss correlation functions in these theories. By extending a previously-proposed basis of operators for $J\bar T$ - deformed CFTs to the single-trace case, we explicitly compute the correlation functions of both untwisted and twisted-sector operators and compare them to an appropriate set of holographic correlators. Our derivations are based mainly on Hilbert space techniques and completely avoid the use of conformal invariance, which is not present in these models.
Infinite $\mathrm{T\bar T}$-like symmetries of compactified LST

Silvia Georgescu, Monica Guica

SciPost Phys. 16, 006 (2024) · published 8 January 2024 | · pdf

We show that the three-dimensional asymptotically linear dilaton background that arises in the near-horizon decoupling region of NS5-branes compactified on $T^4$ admits boundary conditions that lead to an infinite set of symmetries. The associated conserved charges, which implement field-dependent coordinate transformations, are found to be identical to the corresponding generators in a symmetric product orbifold of $T\bar T$ - deformed CFTs. Their algebra is a non-linear modification of the Virasoro × Virasoro algebra, which precisely coincides with the algebra of the "unrescaled" symmetry generators in $T\bar T$-deformed CFTs. This further strengthens a previously proposed link between the single-trace $T\bar T$ deformation and compactified little string theory.

1 citation
Electric conductivity in non-Hermitian holography

Zhuo-Yu Xian, David Rodríguez Fernández, Zhaohui Chen, Yang Liu, René Meyer

SciPost Phys. 16, 004 (2024) · published 5 January 2024 | · pdf

We study the phase structure and charge transport at finite temperature and chemical potential in the non-Hermitian $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric holographic model of [SciPost Phys. 9, 032 (2020)]. The non-Hermitian $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric deformation is realized by promoting the parameter of a global U(1) symmetry to a complex number. Depending on the strength of the deformation, we find three phases: stable $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric phase, unstable $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric phase, and an unstable $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetry broken phase. In the three phases, the square of the condensate and also the spectral weight of the AC conductivity at zero frequency are, respectively, positive, negative, and complex. We check that the Ferrell-Glover-Tinkham sum rule for the AC conductivity holds in all the three phases. We also investigate a complexified U(1) rotor model with $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric deformation, derive its phase structure and condensation pattern, and find a zero frequency spectral weight analogous to the holographic model.
Gaining insights on anyon condensation and 1-form symmetry breaking across a topological phase transition in a deformed toric code model

Joe Huxford, Dung Xuan Nguyen, Yong Baek Kim

SciPost Phys. 15, 253 (2023) · published 22 December 2023 | · pdf

We examine the condensation and confinement mechanisms exhibited by a deformed toric code model proposed in [Castelnovo and Chamon, Phys. Rev. B 77, 054433 (2008)]. The model describes both sides of a phase transition from a topological phase to a trivial phase. Our findings reveal an unconventional confinement mechanism that governs the behavior of the toric code excitations within the trivial phase. Specifically, the confined magnetic charge can still be displaced without any energy cost, albeit only via the application of non-unitary operators that reduce the norm of the state. This peculiar phenomenon can be attributed to a previously known feature of the model: It maintains the non-trivial ground state degeneracy of the toric code throughout the transition. We describe how this degeneracy arises in both phases in terms of spontaneous symmetry breaking of a generalized (1-form) symmetry and explain why such symmetry breaking is compatible with the trivial phase. The present study implies the existence of subtle considerations that must be addressed in the context of recently posited connections between topological phases and broken higher-form symmetries.

4 citations

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