Conformal Bootstrap At Large Charge

Abstract

We consider unitary CFTs with continuous global symmetries in $d>2$. We consider a state created by the lightest operator of large charge $Q \gg 1$ and analyze the correlator of two light charged operators in this state. We assume that the correlator admits a well-defined large $Q$ expansion and, relatedly, that the macroscopic (thermodynamic) limit of the correlator exists. We find that the crossing equations admit a consistent truncation, where only a finite number $N$ of Regge trajectories contribute to the correlator at leading nontrivial order. We classify all such truncated solutions to the crossing. For one Regge trajectory $N=1$, the solution is unique and given by the effective field theory of a Goldstone mode. For two or more Regge trajectories $N \geq 2$, the solutions are encoded in roots of a certain degree $N$ polynomial. Some of the solutions admit a simple weakly coupled EFT description, whereas others do not. In the weakly coupled case, each Regge trajectory corresponds to a field in the effective Lagrangian.