arXiv subjects

Clifford V. Johnson

Publications and source records attributed to Clifford V. Johnson.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2022

The Distribution of Ground State Energies in JT Gravity

It is shown that the distribution of the lowest energy eigenvalue of the quantum completions of Jackiw-Teitelboim gravity is completely described by a non-linear ordinary differential equation (ODE) arising from a non-perturbative treatment of a special random Hermitian matrix model. Its solution matches the result recently obtained by computing a Fredholm determinant using quadrature methods. The new ODE approach allows for analytical expressions for the asymptotic behaviour to be extracted. The results are highly analogous to the well-known Tracy-Widom distribution for the lowest eigenvalue of Gaussian random Hermitian matrices, which appears in a very diverse set of physical and mathematical contexts. Similarly, it is expected that the new distribution characterizes a type of universality that can arise in various gravity settings, including black hole physics in various dimensions, and perhaps beyond. It has an association to a special multicritical generalization of the Gross-Witten-Wadia phase transition.

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arXiv2022

The Microstate Physics of JT Gravity and Supergravity

It is proposed that a complete understanding of two-dimensional quantum gravity and its emergence in random matrix models requires fully embracing {\it both} Wigner (statistics) and 't Hooft (geometry). Using non-perturbative definitions of random matrix models that yield various JT gravity and JT supergravity models on Euclidean surfaces of arbitrary topology, Fredholm determinants are used to extract precise information about the spectra of discrete microstates that underlie the physics. A core result of the computations is that in each case, the (super) Schwarzian spectrum seen at leading order is only an approximation to a new kind of spectrum that is fundamentally discrete. It is further argued that the matrix models point to a {\it single} distinguished copy of the discrete spectrum that characterizes the holographic dual of the Lorentzian (super) gravity theory. These facts suggest that the factorization puzzle is entirely resolved since the discrete spectrum underlying the Schwarzian can have a sensible quantum mechanical origin in a single theory, without an appeal to an ensemble. It is argued that more generally, double-scaled matrix models contain information about both the Lorentzian and Euclidean approaches to quantum gravity. The former comes from the Wignerian approach while the latter from the 't Hooftian 1/N topological expansion.

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arXiv2021

A JT supergravity as a double-cut matrix model

We study a Jackiw-Teitelboim (JT) supergravity theory, defined as an Euclidean path integral over orientable supermanifolds with constant negative curvature, that was argued by Stanford and Witten to be captured by a random matrix model in the $\boldsymbolβ{=}2$ Dyson-Wigner class. We show that the theory is a double-cut matrix model tuned to a critical point where the two cuts coalesce. Our formulation is fully non-perturbative and manifestly stable, providing for explicit unambiguous computation of observables beyond the perturbative recursion relations derivable from loop equations. Our construction shows that this JT supergravity theory may be regarded as a particular combination of certain type 0B minimal string theories, and is hence a natural counterpart to another family of JT supergravity theories recently shown to be built from type 0A minimal strings. We conjecture that certain other JT supergravities can be similarly defined in terms of double-cut matrix models.

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arXiv2021

On the Quenched Free Energy of JT Gravity and Supergravity

The quenched free energy, $F_Q(T){=}{-}T\langle \ln Z(T)\rangle$, of various JT gravity and supergravity theories is explored, taking into account the key non-perturbative physics that is accessible using their matrix model formulations. The leading low energy physics of these systems can be modelled by the Airy and (a family of) Bessel models, which arise from scaling limits of matrix ensembles. The $F_Q(T)$s of these models are directly computed by explicit sampling of the matrix ensembles, and how their properties are connected to the statistical mechanics of the underlying discrete spectrum of the ensembles is elucidated. Some of the low temperature ($T$) features of the results confirm recent observations by Jassen and Mirbabayi. The results are then used as benchmarks for exploring an intriguing formula proposed by Okuyama for computing $F_Q(T)$ in terms of the connected correlators of its partition function, the wormholes of the gravity theory. A low $T$ truncation of the correlators helps render the formula practical, but it is shown that this is at the expense of much of its accuracy. The significance of the statistical interpretation of $F_Q(T)$ for black hole microphysics is discussed.

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arXiv2021

Quantum Gravity Microstates from Fredholm Determinants

A large class of two dimensional quantum gravity theories of Jackiw-Teitelboim form have a description in terms of random matrix models. Such models, treated fully non-perturbatively, can give an explicit and tractable description of the underlying ``microstate'' degrees of freedom. They play a prominent role in regimes where the smooth geometrical picture of the physics is inadequate. This is shown using a natural tool for extracting the detailed microstate physics, a Fredholm determinant ${\rm det}(\mathbf{1}{-}\mathbf{ K})$. Its associated kernel $K(E,E^\prime)$ can be defined explicitly for a wide variety of JT gravity theories. To illustrate the methods, the statistics of the first several energy levels of a non-perturbative definition of JT gravity are constructed explicitly using numerical methods, and the full quenched free energy $F_Q(T)$ of the system is computed for the first time. These results are also of relevance to quantum properties of black holes in higher dimensions.

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arXiv2021

Solving Puzzles in Deformed JT Gravity: Phase Transitions and Non-Perturbative Effects

Recent work has shown that certain deformations of the scalar potential in Jackiw-Teitelboim gravity can be written as double-scaled matrix models. However, some of the deformations exhibit an apparent breakdown of unitarity in the form of a negative spectral density at disc order. We show here that the source of the problem is the presence of a multi-valued solution of the leading order matrix model string equation. While for a class of deformations we fix the problem by identifying a first order phase transition, for others we show that the theory is both perturbatively and non-perturbatively inconsistent. Aspects of the phase structure of the deformations are mapped out, using methods known to supply a non-perturbative definition of undeformed JT gravity. Some features are in qualitative agreement with a semi-classical analysis of the phase structure of two-dimensional black holes in these deformed theories.

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arXiv2021

Low Energy Thermodynamics of JT Gravity and Supergravity

Aspects of the low energy physics of certain Jackiw-Teitelboim gravity and supergravity theories are explored, using their recently presented non-perturbative description in terms of minimal string models. This regime necessarily involves non-perturbative phenomena, and the inclusion of wormhole geometries connecting multiple copies of the nearly AdS$_2$ boundary in the computation of ensemble averages of key quantities. A new "replica-scaling" limit is considered, combining the replica method and double scaling with the low energy limit. Using it, the leading free energy, entropy, and specific heat are explored for various examples. Two models of particular note are the JT supergravity theory defined as a (1,2) Altland-Zirnbauer matrix ensemble by Stanford and Witten, and the Saad-Shenker-Stanford matrix model of ordinary JT gravity (non-perturbatively improved at low energy). The full models have a finite non-vanishing spectral density at zero energy. The replica-scaling construction suggests for them a low temperature entropy and specific heat that are linear in temperature.

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arXiv2020

JT Supergravity, Minimal Strings, and Matrix Models

It is proposed that a family of Jackiw-Teitelboim supergravites, recently discussed in connection with matrix models by Stanford and Witten, can be given a complete definition, to all orders in the topological expansion and beyond, in terms of a specific combination of minimal string theories. This construction defines non-perturbative physics for the supergravity that is well-defined and stable. The minimal models come from double-scaled complex matrix models and correspond to the cases $(2Γ{+}1,2)$ in the Altland-Zirnbauer $(\boldsymbolα,\boldsymbolβ)$ classification of random matrix ensembles, where $Γ$ is a parameter. A central role is played by a non-linear `string equation' that naturally incorporates $Γ$, usually taken to be an integer, counting e.g., D-branes in the minimal models. Here, half-integer $Γ$ also has an interpretation. In fact, $Γ{=}{\pm}\frac12$ yields the cases $(0,2)$ and $(2,2)$ that were shown by Stanford and Witten to have very special properties. These features are manifest in this definition because the relevant solutions of the string equation have special properties for $Γ{=}{\pm}\frac12$. Additional special features for other half-integer $Γ$ suggest new surprises in the supergravity models.

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arXiv2020

Explorations of Non-Perturbative JT Gravity and Supergravity

Some recently proposed definitions of Jackiw-Teitelboim gravity and supergravities in terms of combinations of minimal string models are explored, with a focus on physics beyond the perturbative expansion in spacetime topology. While this formally involves solving infinite order non-linear differential equations, it is shown that the physics can be extracted to arbitrarily high accuracy in a simple controlled truncation scheme, using a combination of analytical and numerical methods. The non-perturbative spectral densities are explicitly computed and exhibited. The full spectral form factors, involving crucial non-perturbative contributions from wormhole geometries, are also computed and displayed, showing the non-perturbative details of the characteristic `slope', `dip', `ramp' and `plateau' features. It is emphasized that results of this kind can most likely be readily extracted for other types of JT gravity using the same methods.

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arXiv2020

Non-Perturbative JT Gravity

Recently, Saad, Shenker and Stanford showed how to define the genus expansion of Jackiw-Teitelboim quantum gravity in terms of a double-scaled Hermitian matrix model. However, the model's non-perturbative sector has fatal instabilities at low energy that they cured by procedures that render the physics non-unique. This might not be a desirable property for a system that is supposed to capture key features of quantum black holes. Presented here is a model with identical perturbative physics at high energy that instead has a stable and unambiguous non-perturbative completion of the physics at low energy. An explicit examination of the full spectral density function shows how this is achieved. The new model, which is based on complex matrix models, also allows for the straightforward inclusion of spacetime features analogous to Ramond-Ramond fluxes. Intriguingly, there is a deformation parameter that connects this non-perturbative formulation of JT gravity to one which, at low energy, has features of a super JT gravity.

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arXiv2019

A Microscopic Description of Thermodynamic Volume in Extended Black Hole Thermodynamics

Using the fact that theories of gravity with asymptotically three-dimensional anti-de Sitter geometries have dual descriptions as two-dimensional conformal field theories (CFTs), we present the first study in field theory of the thermodynamic volume of various black hole solutions. We explain in general two-dimensional CFT terms why the presence of a thermodynamic volume can render certain black hole solutions "super-entropic". Super-entropicity simply results from the fact that the Cardy formula, which gives the gravitational Bekenstein-Hawking entropy, can over-count the CFT entropy. The examples of charged Banados, Teitelbiom and Zanelli (BTZ) black holes and generalized exotic BTZ black holes are described. These observations help explain why the specific heat at constant volume can signal the instability of such solutions, as recently conjectured.

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arXiv2019

de Sitter Black Holes, Schottky Peaks, and Continuous Heat Engines

Recent work has uncovered Schottky-like peaks in the temperature dependence of key specific heats of certain black hole thermodynamic systems. They signal a finite window of available energy states for the underlying microscopic degrees of freedom. This paper reports on new families of peaks, found for the Kerr and Reissner-Nordstrom black holes in a spacetime with positive cosmological constant. It is known that a system with a highest energy, when coupled to two distinct heat baths, can naturally generate a thermodynamic instability, population inversion, a channel for work output. It is noted that these features are all present for de Sitter black holes. It is shown that there are trajectories in parameter space where they behave as generalized masers, operating as continuous heat engines, doing work by shedding angular momentum. It is suggested that bounds on efficiency due to the second law of thermodynamics for general de Sitter black hole solutions could provide powerful consistency checks.

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arXiv2019

Instability of Super-Entropic Black Holes in Extended Thermodynamics

The charged black hole of Banados, Teitelbiom and Zanelli is studied in extended gravitational thermodynamics where there is a dynamical pressure and volume. It is a simple example of a super-entropic black hole, violating the reverse isoperimetric inequality. It is proven that this property implies that its specific heat at constant volume is negative, signalling a new kind of fundamental instability for black holes. It is conjectured that this instability is present for other super-entropic black holes, and this is demonstrated numerically for a large family of known solutions.

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arXiv2019

Holographic Heat Engines as Quantum Heat Engines

Certain solutions of Einstein's equations in anti-de Sitter spacetime can be engineered, using extended gravitational thermodynamics, to yield `holographic heat engines', devices that turn heat into useful mechanical work. On the other hand, there are constructions (both experimental and theoretical) where a series of operations is performed on a small quantum system, defining what are known as `quantum heat engines'. We propose that certain holographic heat engines can be considered models of quantum heat engines, and the possible fruitfulness of this connection is discussed. Motivated by features of quantum heat engines that take a quantum system through analogues of certain classic thermodynamic cycles, some black hole Otto and Diesel cycles are presented and explored for the first time. In the expected regime of overlap, our Otto efficiency formulae are of the form exhibited by quantum and classical heat engines.

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arXiv2019

Specific Heats and Schottky Peaks for Black Holes in Extended Thermodynamics

In the extended thermodynamics of black holes, there is a dynamical pressure and its conjugate volume. The phase structure of many of these black holes has been studied a great deal and shown to give close analogues of the phase structure of various ordinary matter systems. However, we point out that the most studied black holes in this framework, such as Schwarzschild-AdS and Reissner-Nordstrom-AdS, and various analogues in higher-derivative gravity, do not have the type of elementary degrees of freedom that play a central role in the classic models of matter. This is because they have vanishing specific heat at constant volume, C_V. As examples with non-vanishing C_V, the Kerr-AdS and STU-AdS black holes do have such degrees of freedom, and a study of C_V(T) reveals Schottky-like behaviour suggestive of a finite window of energy excitations. This intriguing physics may have useful applications in fields such as holographic duality, quantum information, and beyond.

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arXiv2018

Holographic Heat Engines, Entanglement Entropy, and Renormalization Group Flow

We explore a fruitful connection between the physics of conformal field theories (CFTs) in d-dimensional Minkowski spacetime and the extended gravitational thermodynamics of hyperbolic black holes in (d+1)-dimensional anti-de Sitter spacetime. The CFTs are reduced on a region bounded by a sphere. We show that Renormalization Group (RG) flows between CFTs are specific thermodynamic processes in the (p,V) plane, where the irreversibility of coarse-graining flows from the ultraviolet to the infrared corresponds to the Second Law of thermodynamics, preventing heat from flowing from low temperature to high. We observe that holographic heat engines using the black holes as a working substance correspond to specific combinations of CFT flows and deformations. We construct three special engines whose net heat and work can be described in terms of changes of entanglement entropy across the sphere. Engine efficiencies emerge as simple functions of the ratio of the number of degrees of freedom of two CFTs.

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arXiv2018

Physical Generalizations of the Renyi Entropy

We present a new type of generalization of the Renyi entropy that follows naturally from its representation as a thermodynamic quantity. We apply it to the case of d-dimensional conformal field theories (CFTs) reduced on a region bounded by a sphere. It is known how to compute their Renyi entropy as an integral of the thermal entropy of hyperbolic black holes in (d+1)-dimensional anti-de Sitter spacetime. We show how this integral fits into the framework of extended gravitational thermodynamics, and then point out the natural generalization of the Renyi entropy that suggests itself in that light. In field theory terms, the new generalization employs aspects of the physics of Renormalization Group (RG) flow to define a refined version of the reduced vacuum density matrix. For d=2, it can be derived directly in terms of twist operators in field theory. The framework presented here may have applications beyond this context, perhaps in studies of both quantum and classical information theoretic properties of a variety of systems.

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arXiv2018

Taub-Bolt Heat Engines

It is shown that aspects of the extended thermodynamic properties of the Taub-Bolt-AdS spacetime in four dimensions are similar to those of the Schwarzschild-AdS black hole. In a high temperature expansion, the equations of state begin to deviate only at next-to-subleading orders. By analogy with what has been done for black holes, Taub-Bolt's thermodynamic equations are used to define holographic heat engines, the first examples of gravitational heat engines defined using a spacetime that is not a black hole. As a further comparison, the Taub-Bolt engine efficiency is computed for two special kinds of engine cycle and compared to the results for analogous Schwarzschild black hole engine cycles.

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