arXiv subjects

Aron C. Wall

Publications and source records attributed to Aron C. Wall.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Holographic Cosmology at Finite Time

We investigate Cauchy Slice Holography in de Sitter spacetime. By performing a $T^2$ deformation of a (bottom-up) dS/CFT model, we obtain a holographic theory living on flat Cauchy slices of de Sitter, for which time is an emergent dimension, associated with an RG flow. In this $T^2$-deformed field theory, the dS/CFT is an IR fixed point rather than a UV fixed point, potentially affecting discussions of naturalness. As in the case of AdS/CFT, the terms in the $T^2$ deformation depend on the dimension and the bulk matter sector; in this article we consider gravity, plus optionally a scalar field of arbitrary mass. We compute scalar and graviton two-point correlation functions in the deformed boundary theory, and demonstrate precise agreement with finite-time wavefunction coefficients, which we calculate independently on the bulk side. The results are analytic in the scalar field dimension $Δ$, and may therefore be continued to arbitrary generic values, including the principal series. Although many aspects of the calculations are similar to the AdS/CFT case, some new features arise due to the complex phases which appear in cosmology. Our calculations confirm previous expectations that the holographic counterterms are purely imaginary, when expressed in terms of wavefunction coefficients. But cosmological correlators, calculated by the Born rule, are shifted in a more complicated and nonlinear way.

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arXiv2025

Bounding field excursions along null geodesics with applications to cosmology

Scalar fields in theories of gravity often inhabit a moduli space of vacua, and coherent spatial or temporal variations in their expectation values can produce measurable gravitational effects. Such variations are expected in contexts ranging from inflationary cosmology to the near-horizon regions of near-extremal black holes, where they can deflect light rays and shift horizons. This work derives a quantitative field excursion bound (FEB) on scalar variations along null geodesics, expressed in terms of the expansion parameter. The bound follows from the Raychaudhuri equation, assuming that all other fields satisfy the null energy condition (NEC). It is saturated in certain spacetimes containing a timelike naked singularity. A possible generalization to semiclassical spacetimes that violate the NEC, but satisfy a strengthened version of the quantum focusing condition (QFC), is proposed. In cosmology, the FEB constrains the extent of large field excursions to be linearly bounded by the number of e-folds, independent of the inflationary model. This has notable implications for anthropic scenarios, where large excursions are often invoked to access favorable vacua.

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arXiv2025

Kosmic Field Theories: Towards Holographic Duals for Unitary String Cosmologies

Recent work on cosmological amplitudes has established reality conditions (derived from unitarity) for general particle-creation processes in flat FLRW cosmologies, in the Bunch-Davies wavefunction. In light of these results, we propose a new class of large-$N$ holographic gauge theories with $d$ spatial dimensions, which we call Kosmic Field Theories (KFTs), of which only a subset are conformal (KCFTs). By imposing an appropriate -- $d$ dependent -- complex phase for the number of colours $N$ and the t' Hooft coupling $λ$, we show that the complex phases of $n$-point functions in a KFT match the reality conditions required by $d + 1$ bulk unitarity, to all orders in bulk and boundary perturbation theory, including loop diagrams. Since $N^2/λ$ is imaginary in all dimensions, the class of (parity-even) KFTs has no overlap with the class of Wick rotations of unitary QFTs. We also make a preliminary investigation of positivity conditions, which might constrain the overall $\pm$ sign of $N^2$ and $λ$. Although SU($N$) models with adjoint matter can be defined in generic real dimensions $d$, several features of the class of KFTs are nicer when $d$ is odd, allowing $N^2$ to be real. This includes the possibility of non-oriented and/or open string duals, reality of the effective number of degrees of freedom, and closure under RG flow beyond the leading order in a $1/N$ expansion. This could explain why we live in a cosmology with an even number of spacetime dimensions.

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arXiv2025

The Cosmological CPT Theorem

The CPT theorem states that a unitary and Lorentz-invariant theory must also be invariant under a discrete symmetry $\mathbf{CRT}$ which reverses charge, time, and one spatial direction. In this article, we study a $\mathbb{Z}_2 \times \mathbb{Z}_2$ symmetry group, in which two of the nontrivial symmetries (``Reflection Reality'' and a 180 degree rotation) are implied by Unitarity and Lorentz Invariance respectively, while the third is $\mathbf{CRT}$. (In cosmology, Scale Invariance plays the role of Lorentz Invariance.) This naturally leads to converses of the CPT theorem, as any two of the discrete $\mathbb{Z}_2$ symmetries will imply the third one. Furthermore, in many field theories, the Reflection Reality $\mathbb{Z}_2$ symmetry is actually sufficient to imply the theory is fully unitary, over a generic range of couplings. Building upon previous work on the Cosmological Optical Theorem, we derive non-perturbative reality conditions associated with bulk Reflection Reality (in all flat FLRW models) and $\mathbf{CRT}$ (in de Sitter spacetime), in arbitrary dimensions. Remarkably, this $\mathbf{CRT}$ constraint suffices to fix the phase of all wavefunction coefficients at future infinity (up to a real sign) -- without requiring any analytic continuation, or comparison to past infinity -- although extra care is required in cases where the bulk theory has logarithmic UV or IR divergences. This result has significant implications for de Sitter holography, as it allows us to determine the phases of arbitrary $n$-point functions in the dual CFT.

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arXiv2025

A Background-Independent Closed String Action at Tree Level

We propose an off-shell bosonic string action that removes the renormalization window constraint of [1]. To all orders in conformal perturbation theory, this action allows for deformations of the worldsheet theory by any primary or descendant irrelevant deformation. Non-perturbatively, this action has no spurious solutions on the space of all worldsheet theories with a unitary matter sector that flows from a UV fixed point. We find that non-minimal couplings dressed with more than one factor of the Ricci curvature behave as gauge redundancies. As part of our investigation of this action, we find non-smooth behavior in the Zamolodchikov $C$-function. Our results mostly apply to Euclidean-signature target spaces, but can be extended to Lorentzian backgrounds which are invariant under time translations and CTO symmetry.

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arXiv2024

Off-Shell Strings I: S-matrix and Action

We explain why Tseytlin's off-shell formulation of string theory is well-defined. Although quantizing strings on an off-shell background requires an arbitrary choice of Weyl frame, this choice is not physically significant since it can be absorbed into a field redefinition of the target space fields. The off-shell formalism is particularly subtle at tree-level, due to the treatment of the noncompact conformal Killing group SL(2,$\mathbb{C}$) of the sphere. We prove that Tseytlin's sphere prescriptions recover the standard tree-level Lorentzian S-matrix, and show how to extract the stringy $i\varepsilon$ prescription from the UV cutoff on the worldsheet. We also demonstrate that the correct tree-level equations of motion are obtained to all orders in perturbation theory in $g_s$ and $α^{\prime}$, and illuminate the close connection between the string action and the c-theorem.

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arXiv2024

Off-Shell Strings II: Black Hole Entropy

In 1994, Susskind and Uglum argued that it is possible to derive the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy $A/4G_N$ from string theory. In this article we explain the conceptual underpinnings of this argument, while elucidating its relationship to induced gravity and ER=EPR. Following an off-shell calculation by Tseytlin, we explicitly derive the classical closed string effective action from sphere diagrams at leading order in $α^{\prime}$. We then show how to use this to obtain black hole entropy from the RG flow of the NLSM on conical manifolds. (We also briefly discuss the more problematic ``open string picture'' of Susskind and Uglum, in which strings end on the horizon.) We then compare these off-shell results with the rival ``orbifold replica trick'' using the on-shell $\mathbb{C}/Z_{N}$ background, which does not account for the leading order Bekenstein-Hawking entropy -- unless perhaps tachyons are allowed to condense on the orbifold. Possible connections to the ER=EPR conjecture are explored. Finally, we discuss prospects for various extensions, including prospects for deriving holographic entanglement entropy in the bulk of AdS.

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arXiv2024

A New Covariant Entropy Bound from Cauchy Slice Holography

We begin an investigation of a new holographic covariant entropy bound (HCEB) in gravity. This bound arises from Cauchy slice holography, a recently proposed duality between the bulk gravity theory and a `boundary' theory that lives on Cauchy slices. The HCEB is the logarithm of the maximum number of states of this theory that can pass through a given cut $σ$ of a Cauchy slice $Σ$ ($σ$ is thus a codimension-2 surface in the bulk). We show that the bound depends only on the codimension-2 data on $σ$, and is thus independent of the choice of slice $Σ$. For classical states, the HCEB upper bounds the entanglement between two subregions of the boundary of $Σ$. We calculate the bound explicitly in pure three-dimensional GR with negative cosmological constant, where the Cauchy slice theory is the $T \overline{T}$-deformation of the dual CFT. We find that the imaginary energy eigenstates in the spectrum of the deformed theory play a crucial role for obtaining a valid bound in Lorentzian signature. Our bound agrees with the area of a surface at certain marginal and extremal surfaces, but differs elsewhere. In particular, it exceeds the area by an arbitrarily large amount for (anti)trapped surfaces, such as those that lie inside a black hole. Finally, we discuss how these results can be used to write down tensor networks corresponding to arbitrary Cauchy slices.

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arXiv2024

Linearised Second Law for Higher Curvature Gravity and Non-Minimally Coupled Vector Fields

Expanding the work of arXiv:1504.08040, we show that black holes obey a second law for linear perturbations to bifurcate Killing horizons, in any covariant higher curvature gravity coupled to scalar and vector fields. The vector fields do not need to be gauged, and (like the scalars) can have arbitrary non-minimal couplings to the metric. The increasing entropy has a natural expression in covariant phase space language, which makes it manifestly invariant under JKM ambiguities. An explicit entropy formula is given for f(Riemann) gravity coupled to vectors, where at most one derivative acts on each vector. Besides the previously known curvature terms, there are three extra terms involving differentiating the Lagrangian by the symmetric vector derivative (which therefore vanish for gauge fields).

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arXiv2023

What if Quantum Gravity is "just'' Quantum Information Theory?

I suggest the possibility that holographic quantum gravity is, in some sense, equivalent to quantum information theory. Some radical implications would follow. First, the theory of quantum gravity should have no adjustable coupling constants, similar to string theory. Thus, all complete bulk theories of quantum gravity are dual to each other. By setting up an appropriately entangled state, it should be possible to find wormholes connecting any two quantum gravity theories (e.g. string theory and loop quantum gravity). Secondly, if we represent space at one time as a tensor network, then dynamics is automatically encoded via gauge-equivalent descriptions of the boundary state. This would appear to imply, contrary to semiclassical expectations, that a closed universe should have only one state.

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arXiv2022

Cauchy Slice Holography: A New AdS/CFT Dictionary

We investigate a new approach to holography in asymptotically AdS spacetimes, in which time rather than space is the emergent dimension. By making a sufficiently large T^2-deformation of a Euclidean CFT, we define a holographic theory that lives on Cauchy slices of the Lorentzian bulk. (More generally, for an arbitrary Hamiltonian constraint equation that closes, we show how to obtain it by an irrelevant deformation from a CFT with suitable anomalies.) The partition function of this theory defines a natural map between the bulk canonical quantum gravity theory Hilbert space, and the Hilbert space of the usual (undeformed) boundary CFT. We argue for the equivalence of the ADM and CFT Hamiltonians. We also explain how bulk unitarity emerges naturally, even though the boundary theory is not reflection-positive. This allows us to reformulate the holographic principle in the language of Wheeler-DeWitt canonical quantum gravity. Along the way, we outline a procedure for obtaining a bulk Hilbert space from the gravitational path integral with Dirichlet boundary conditions. Following previous conjectures, we postulate that this finite-cutoff gravitational path integral agrees with the T^2-deformed theory living on an arbitrary boundary manifold -- at least near the semiclassical regime. However, the T^2-deformed theory may be easier to UV complete, in which case it would be natural to take it as the definition of nonperturbative quantum gravity.

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arXiv2021

Violation of Unitarity in Gravitational Subregions

This essay contends that in quantum gravity, some spatial regions do not admit a unitary Hilbert space. Because the gravitational path integral spontaneously breaks CPT symmetry, "states" with negative probability can be identified on either side of trapped surfaces. I argue that these negative norm states are tolerable, by analogy to quantum mechanics. This viewpoint suggests a resolution of the firewall paradox, similar to black hole complementarity. Implications for cosmology are briefly discussed.

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arXiv2019

Beyond Toy Models: Distilling Tensor Networks in Full AdS/CFT

We present a general procedure for constructing tensor networks that accurately reproduce holographic states in conformal field theories (CFTs). Given a state in a large-$N$ CFT with a static, semiclassical gravitational dual, we build a tensor network by an iterative series of approximations that eliminate redundant degrees of freedom and minimize the bond dimensions of the resulting network. We argue that the bond dimensions of the tensor network will match the areas of the corresponding bulk surfaces. For 'tree' tensor networks (i.e., those that are constructed by discretizing spacetime with non-intersecting Ryu-Takayanagi surfaces), our arguments can be made rigorous using a version of one-shot entanglement distillation in the CFT. Using the known quantum error correcting properties of AdS/CFT, we show that bulk legs can be added to the tensor networks to create holographic quantum error correcting codes. These codes behave similarly to previous holographic tensor network toy models, but describe actual bulk excitations in continuum AdS/CFT. By assuming some natural generalizations of the 'holographic entanglement of purification' conjecture, we are able to construct tensor networks for more general bulk discretizations, leading to finer-grained networks that partition the information content of a Ryu-Takayanagi surface into tensor-factorized subregions. While the granularity of such a tensor network must be set larger than the string/Planck scales, we expect that it can be chosen to lie well below the AdS scale. However, we also prove a no-go theorem which shows that the bulk-to-boundary maps cannot all be isometries in a tensor network with intersecting Ryu-Takayanagi surfaces.

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arXiv2019

Traversable Wormholes via a Double Trace Deformation

After turning on an interaction that couples the two boundaries of an eternal BTZ black hole, we find a quantum matter stress tensor with negative average null energy, whose gravitational backreaction renders the Einstein-Rosen bridge traversable. Such a traversable wormhole has an interesting interpretation in the context of ER=EPR, which we suggest might be related to quantum teleportation. However, it cannot be used to violate causality. We also discuss the implications for the energy and holographic entropy in the dual CFT description.

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arXiv2019

Decoding the Apparent Horizon: A Coarse-Grained Holographic Entropy

When a black hole forms from collapse in a holographic theory, the information in the black hole interior remains encoded in the boundary. We prove that the area of the black hole's apparent horizon is precisely the entropy associated to coarse graining over the information in its interior, subject to knowing the exterior geometry. This is the maximum holographic entanglement entropy that is compatible with all classical measurements conducted outside of the apparent horizon. We identify the boundary dual to this entropy and explain why it obeys a Second Law of Thermodynamics.

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arXiv2019

Coarse Graining Holographic Black Holes

We expand our recent work on the outer entropy, a holographic coarse-grained entropy defined by maximizing the boundary entropy while fixing the classical bulk data outside some surface. When the surface is marginally trapped and satisfies certain "minimar" conditions, we prove that the outer entropy is exactly equal to a quarter the area (while for other classes of surfaces, the area gives an upper or lower bound). We explicitly construct the entropy-maximizing interior of a minimar surface, and show that it satisfies the appropriate junction conditions. This provides a statistical explanation for the area-increase law for spacelike holographic screens foliated by minimar surfaces. Our construction also provides an interpretation of the area for a class of non-minimal extremal surfaces. On the boundary side, we define an increasing simple entropy by maximizing the entropy subject to a set of "simple experiments" performed after some time. We show (to all orders in perturbation theory around equilibrium) that the simple entropy is the boundary dual to our bulk construction.

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arXiv2019

Holographic Tensor Networks in Full AdS/CFT

We present a general procedure for constructing tensor networks for geometric states in the Anti-de Sitter/Conformal Field Theory (AdS/CFT) correspondence. Given a state in a large-$N$ CFT with a static, semiclassical gravitational dual, our procedure produces a tensor network for the boundary state whose internal geometry matches (a discretization of) the bulk spacetime geometry. By invoking the "holographic entanglement of purification" conjecture, our construction can be made to capture the structure of the bulk spacetime at sub-AdS scales.

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arXiv2019

Restricted Maximin surfaces and HRT in generic black hole spacetimes

The AdS/CFT understanding of CFT entanglement is based on HRT surfaces in the dual bulk spacetime. While such surfaces need not exist in sufficiently general spacetimes, the maximin construction demonstrates that they can be found in any smooth asymptotically locally AdS spacetime without horizons or with only Kasner-like singularities. In this work, we introduce restricted maximin surfaces anchored to a particular boundary Cauchy slice $C_\partial$. We show that the result agrees with the original unrestricted maximin prescription when the restricted maximin surface lies in a smooth region of spacetime. We then use this construction to extend the existence theorem for HRT surfaces to generic charged or spinning AdS black holes whose mass-inflation singularities are not Kasner-like. We also discuss related issues in time-independent charged wormholes.

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