arXiv subjects

Eliot Hijano

Publications and source records attributed to Eliot Hijano.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2022

Towards an IR finite S-matrix in the flat limit of AdS/CFT

Asymptotic Fock spaces lead to IR divergences in S-matrices. The issue can be traced back to the assumption of asymptotic decoupling, and its relaxation leads to Faddeev-Kulish states and an IR-finite S-matrix. In this paper we initiate the exploration of these states in the context of the flat limit of AdS/CFT. We construct asymptotic states as flat limits of fields that interact with the electro-magnetic field in AdS, and provide a reconstruction in terms of the dual CFT operators.

hep-th↗

arXiv2022

Field Theory of Interacting Boundary Gravitons

Pure three-dimensional gravity is a renormalizable theory with two free parameters labelled by $G$ and $Λ$. As a consequence, correlation functions of the boundary stress tensor in AdS$_3$ are uniquely fixed in terms of one dimensionless parameter, which is the central charge of the Virasoro algebra. The same argument implies that AdS$_3$ gravity at a finite radial cutoff is a renormalizable theory, but now with one additional parameter corresponding to the cutoff location. This theory is conjecturally dual to a $T\overline{T}$-deformed CFT, assuming that such theories actually exist. To elucidate this, we study the quantum theory of boundary gravitons living on a cutoff planar boundary and the associated correlation functions of the boundary stress tensor. We compute stress tensor correlation functions to two-loop order ($G$ being the loop counting parameter), extending existing tree level results. This is made feasible by the fact that the boundary graviton action simplifies greatly upon making a judicious field redefinition, turning into the Nambu-Goto action. After imposing Lorentz invariance, the correlators at this order are found to be unambiguous up to a single undetermined renormalization parameter.

hep-th↗

arXiv2020

Soft photon theorems from CFT Ward identites in the flat limit of AdS/CFT

S-matrix elements in flat space can be obtained from a large AdS-radius limit of certain CFT correlators. We present a method for constructing CFT operators which create incoming and outgoing scattering states in flat space. This is done by taking the flat limit of bulk operator reconstruction techniques. Using this method, we obtain explicit expressions for incoming and outgoing U(1) gauge fields. Weinberg soft photon theorems then follow from Ward identites of conserved CFT currents. In four bulk dimensions, gauge fields on AdS can be quantized with standard and alternative boundary conditions. Changing the quantization scheme corresponds to the S-transformation of SL(2,Z) electric-magnetic duality in the bulk. This allows us to derive both, the electric and magnetic soft photon theorems in flat space from CFT physics.

hep-th↗

arXiv2019

Flat space physics from AdS/CFT

We propose a formula relating scattering S-matrix amplitudes to correlators of a conformal field theory. The proposal implements a flat limit of the field theory, providing an indirect microscopic description of gravitational theories with asymptotically flat boundary conditions. The formula is valid for both massive and massless external particles, and reduces to existing expressions in the literature when all particles are either simultaneously massless or massive. We test the result in various (2+1)-dimensional examples such as simple BMS3 invariant correlators and blocks. We also study two-point correlators in conformal field theory deficit states to obtain known expressions for non-trivial scattering in asymptotically flat conical geometries.

hep-th↗

arXiv2018

The holographic entropy zoo

We study the holographic dual of a two parameter family of quantities known as the $α$-$z$ divergences. Many familiar information theoretic quantities occur within this family, including the relative entropy, fidelity, and collision relative entropy. We find explicit bulk expressions for the boundary divergences to second order in a state perturbation whenever $α$ is an integer and $z\geq0$, as well as when $z\in\{0,\infty\}$ and $α\in \mathbb{R}$. Our results apply for perturbations around an arbitrary background state and in any dimension, under the assumption of the equality of bulk and boundary modular flows.

hep-th↗

arXiv2018

Semi-classical BMS$_3$ blocks and flat holography

We present the construction of BMS$_3$ blocks in a two-dimensional field theory and compare the results with holographic computations involving probe particles propagating in flat space cosmologies. On the field theory side, we generalize the monodromy method used in the context of AdS/CFT to theories with BMS symmetry. On the bulk side we consider geodesic Feynman diagrams, recently introduced in [arXiv:1712.07131], evaluated in locally flat geometries generated by backreaction of heavy BMS primary operators. We comment on the implications of these results for the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis in flat holography.

hep-th↗

arXiv2018

Holographic Entanglement and Poincare blocks in three dimensional flat space

We propose a covariant prescription to compute holographic entanglement entropy and Poincare blocks (Global BMS blocks) in the context of three-dimensional Einstein gravity in flat space. We first present a prescription based on worldline methods in the probe limit, inspired by recent analog calculations in AdS/CFT. Building on this construction, we propose a full extrapolate dictionary and use it to compute holographic correlators and blocks away from the probe limit.

hep-th↗

arXiv2017

Higher Curvature Gravity from Entanglement in Conformal Field Theories

By generalizing different recent works to the context of higher curvature gravity, we provide a unifying framework for three related results: (i) If an asymptotically AdS spacetime computes the entanglement entropies of ball-shaped regions in a CFT using a generalized Ryu-Takayanagi formula up to second order in state deformations around the vacuum, then the spacetime satisfies the correct gravitational equations of motion up to second order around AdS; (ii) The holographic dual of entanglement entropy in higher curvature theories of gravity is given by Wald entropy plus a particular correction term involving extrinsic curvatures; (iii) CFT relative entropy is dual to gravitational canonical energy (also in higher curvature theories of gravity). Especially for the second point, our novel derivation of this previously known statement does not involve the Euclidean replica trick.

hep-th↗

arXiv2017

Nonlinear Gravity from Entanglement in Conformal Field Theories

In this paper, we demonstrate the emergence of nonlinear gravitational equations directly from the physics of a broad class of conformal field theories. We consider CFT excited states defined by adding sources for scalar primary or stress tensor operators to the Euclidean path integral defining the vacuum state. For these states, we show that up to second order in the sources, the entanglement entropy for all ball-shaped regions can always be represented geometrically (via the Ryu-Takayanagi formula) by an asymptotically AdS geometry. We show that such a geometry necessarily satisfies Einstein's equations perturbatively up to second order, with a stress energy tensor arising from matter fields associated with the sourced primary operators. We make no assumptions about AdS/CFT duality, so our work serves as both a consistency check for the AdS/CFT correspondence and a direct demonstration that spacetime and gravitational physics can emerge from the description of entanglement in conformal field theories.

hep-th↗

arXiv2016

Holographic conformal blocks from interacting Wilson lines

We present a simple prescription for computing conformal blocks and correlation functions holographically in AdS$_3$ in terms of Wilson lines merging at a bulk vertex. This is shown to reproduce global conformal blocks and heavy-light Virasoro blocks. In the case of higher spin theories the space of vertices is in one-to-one correspondence with the space of ${\cal W}_N$ conformal blocks, and we show how the latter are obtained by explicit computations.

hep-th↗

arXiv2015

Witten Diagrams Revisited: The AdS Geometry of Conformal Blocks

We develop a new method for decomposing Witten diagrams into conformal blocks. The steps involved are elementary, requiring no explicit integration, and operate directly in position space. Central to this construction is an appealingly simple answer to the question: what object in AdS computes a conformal block? The answer is a "geodesic Witten diagram," which is essentially an ordinary exchange Witten diagram, except that the cubic vertices are not integrated over all of AdS, but only over bulk geodesics connecting the boundary operators. In particular, we consider the case of four-point functions of scalar operators, and show how to easily reproduce existing results for the relevant conformal blocks in arbitrary dimension.

hep-th↗

arXiv2015

Semiclassical Virasoro Blocks from AdS$_3$ Gravity

We present a unified framework for the holographic computation of Virasoro conformal blocks at large central charge. In particular, we provide bulk constructions that correctly reproduce all semiclassical Virasoro blocks that are known explicitly from conformal field theory computations. The results revolve around the use of geodesic Witten diagrams, recently introduced in arXiv:1508.00501, evaluated in locally AdS$_3$ geometries generated by backreaction of heavy operators. We also provide an alternative computation of the heavy-light semiclassical block -- in which two external operators become parametrically heavy -- as a certain scattering process involving higher spin gauge fields in AdS$_3$; this approach highlights the chiral nature of Virasoro blocks. These techniques may be systematically extended to compute corrections to these blocks and to interpolate amongst the different semiclassical regimes.

hep-th↗

arXiv2015

Worldline approach to semi-classical conformal blocks

We extend recent results on semi-classical conformal blocks in 2d CFT and their relation to 3D gravity via the AdS/CFT correspondence. We consider four-point functions with two heavy and two light external operators, along with the exchange of a light operator. By explicit computation, we establish precise agreement between these CFT objects and a simple picture of particle worldlines joined by cubic vertices propagating in asymptotically AdS$_3$ geometries (conical defects or BTZ black holes). We provide a simple argument that explains this agreement.

hep-th↗

arXiv2014

Higher Spin Entanglement and W_N Conformal Blocks

Two-dimensional conformal field theories with extended $\cal{W}$-symmetry algebras have dual descriptions in terms of weakly coupled higher spin gravity in AdS$_3\,$ at large central charge. Observables that can be computed and compared in the two descriptions include Rényi and entanglement entropies, and correlation functions of local operators. We develop techniques for computing these, in a manner that sheds light on when and why one can expect agreement between such quantities on each side of the duality. We set up the computation of excited state Rényi entropies in the bulk in terms of Chern-Simons connections, and show how this directly parallels the CFT computation of correlation functions. More generally, we consider the vacuum conformal block for general operators with $Δ\sim c\,$. When two of the operators obey ${Δ\over c} \ll 1\,$, we show by explicit computation that the vacuum conformal block is computed by a bulk Wilson line probing an asymptotically AdS$_3$ background with higher spin fields excited, the latter emerging as the effective bulk description of the excited state produced by the heavy operators. Among other things, this puts a previous proposal for computing higher spin entanglement entropy via Wilson lines on firmer footing, and clarifies its relation to CFT. We also study the corresponding computation in Toda theory and find that this provides yet another independent way to arrive at the same result.

hep-th↗

arXiv2014

A new spin on entanglement entropy

We argue that the usual notions of thermodynamic and entanglement entropy have novel analogs in the context of higher spin theories. In particular, the Wald and Ryu-Takayanagi formulas have natural higher spin extensions that we work out and study. On the CFT side, just as standard entanglement entropy in CFT_2 can be computed from twist field correlators, we demonstrate that by introducing corresponding operators carrying higher spin charge we can precisely reproduce our results from the bulk. We also show that the first law for entanglement entropy implies the linearized field equations for the metric and higher spin fields, generalizing recent work on deriving the linearized Einstein equations from the first law.

hep-th↗

arXiv2013

Lifshitz black holes in higher spin gravity

We study asymptotically Lifshitz solutions to three dimensional higher spin gravity in the SL(3,R)xSL(3,R) Chern-Simons formulation. We begin by specifying the most general connections satisfying Lifshitz boundary conditions, and we verify that their algebra of symmetries contains a Lifshitz sub-algebra. We then exhibit connections that can be viewed as higher spin Lifshitz black holes. We show that when suitable holonomy conditions are imposed, these black holes obey sensible thermodynamics and possess a gauge in which the corresponding metric exhibits a regular horizon.

hep-th↗

arXiv2013

Matching four-point functions in higher spin AdS_3/CFT_2

Working in the context of the proposed duality between 3D higher spin gravity and 2D W_N minimal model CFTs, we compute a class of four-point functions in the bulk and on the boundary, and demonstrate precise agreement between them. This is the first computation of a correlator in 3D higher spin gravity whose functional form is not fixed by conformal invariance. In the bulk we make use of elegant methods to solve the scalar field equation using only matrix manipulations, while on the CFT side we employ the Coulomb gas representation. Comparison is made in the semiclassical limit, in which the central charge is taken to infinity at fixed N. Along the way, we establish the rules for computing correlation functions of multi-trace operators in higher spin gravity. The method involves solving the scalar master field equation in a general representation of the bulk gauge algebra. Although most of our work is carried out for the bulk theory based on sl(N) x sl(N), we also discuss how our methods can be adapted to the hs[λ] x hs[λ] theory, which is relevant in the 't Hooft limit.

hep-th↗

arXiv2012

Smoothed Transitions in Higher Spin AdS Gravity

We consider CFTs conjectured to be dual to higher spin theories of gravity in AdS_3 and AdS_4. Two dimensional CFTs with W_N symmetry are considered in the lambda=0 (k --> infinity) limit, where they are conjectured to be described by continuous orbifolds. The torus partition function is computed, using reasonable assumptions, and equals that of a free field theory. We find no phase transition at temperatures of order one; the usual Hawking-Page phase transition is removed by the highly degenerate light states associated with conical defect states in the bulk. Three dimensional Chern-Simons-matter CFTs with vector-like matter are considered on T^3, where the dynamics is described by an effective theory for the eigenvalues of the holonomies. Likewise, we find no evidence for a Hawking-Page phase transition at large level k.

hep-th↗