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arXiv · 2502.01734

Symmetric Product Orbifold Universality and the Mirage of an Emergent Spacetime

Alexandre Belin·Suzanne Bintanja·Alejandra Castro·Waltraut Knop
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Abstract

We study thermal two-point functions and four-point functions involving two heavy twisted operators and two light probes in symmetric product orbifolds. We identify cases where they are universal at large $N$, that is, they are only sensitive to the orbifold structure. Surprisingly, such observables mimic correlators obtained from the BTZ background, even though symmetric product orbifolds are not dual to semi-classical gravity. We discuss the interpretation of these results in light of the criteria for emergence of spacetime via Von Neumann algebras. Our analysis implies that a condition on the infinite $N$ thermal two-point functions cannot be stringent enough to define an emergent spacetime and the concept of a sharp horizon.

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Alexandre Belin, Suzanne Bintanja, Alejandra Castro, Waltraut Knop. 2025-02-03. Symmetric Product Orbifold Universality and the Mirage of an Emergent Spacetime. https://doi.org/10.1007/jhep05(2025)190

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