arXiv subjects

Eric Perlmutter

Publications and source records attributed to Eric Perlmutter.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2019

Genus-One String Amplitudes from Conformal Field Theory

We explore and exploit the relation between non-planar correlators in ${\cal N}=4$ super-Yang-Mills, and higher-genus closed string amplitudes in type IIB string theory. By conformal field theory techniques we construct the genus-one, four-point string amplitude in AdS$_5\times S^5$ in the low-energy expansion, dual to an ${\cal N}=4$ super-Yang-Mills correlator in the 't Hooft limit at order $1/c^2$ in a strong coupling expansion. In the flat space limit, this maps onto the genus-one, four-point scattering amplitude for type II closed strings in ten dimensions. Using this approach we reproduce several results obtained via string perturbation theory. We also demonstrate a novel mechanism to fix subleading terms in the flat space limit of AdS amplitudes by using string/M-theory.

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arXiv2019

$d$-dimensional SYK, AdS Loops, and $6j$ Symbols

We study the $6j$ symbol for the conformal group, and its appearance in three seemingly unrelated contexts: the SYK model, conformal representation theory, and perturbative amplitudes in AdS. The contribution of the planar Feynman diagrams to the three-point function of the bilinear singlets in SYK is shown to be a $6j$ symbol. We generalize the computation of these and other Feynman diagrams to $d$ dimensions. The $6j$ symbol can be viewed as the crossing kernel for conformal partial waves, which may be computed using the Lorentzian inversion formula. We provide closed-form expressions for $6j$ symbols in $d=1,2,4$. In AdS, we show that the $6j$ symbol is the Lorentzian inversion of a crossing-symmetric tree-level exchange amplitude, thus efficiently packaging the double-trace OPE data. Finally, we consider one-loop diagrams in AdS with internal scalars and external spinning operators, and show that the triangle diagram is a $6j$ symbol, while one-loop $n$-gon diagrams are built out of $6j$ symbols.

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arXiv2018

The Conformal Bootstrap at Finite Temperature

We initiate an approach to constraining conformal field theory (CFT) data at finite temperature using methods inspired by the conformal bootstrap for vacuum correlation functions. We focus on thermal one- and two-point functions of local operators on the plane. The KMS condition for thermal two-point functions is cast as a crossing equation. By studying the analyticity properties of thermal two-point functions, we derive a "thermal inversion formula" whose output is the set of thermal one-point functions for all operators appearing in a given OPE. This involves identifying a kinematic regime which is the analog of the Regge regime for four-point functions. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the inversion formula by recovering the spectrum and thermal one-point functions in mean field theory, and computing thermal one-point functions for all higher-spin currents in the critical $O(N)$ model at leading order in $1/N$. Furthermore, we develop a systematic perturbation theory for thermal data in the large spin, low-twist spectrum of any CFT. We explain how the inversion formula and KMS condition may be combined to algorithmically constrain CFTs at finite temperature. Throughout, we draw analogies to the bootstrap for vacuum four-point functions. Finally, we discuss future directions for the thermal conformal bootstrap program, emphasizing applications to various types of CFTs, including those with holographic duals.

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arXiv2018

Holographic Reconstruction of AdS Exchanges from Crossing Symmetry

Motivated by AdS/CFT, we address the following outstanding question in large $N$ conformal field theory: given the appearance of a single-trace operator in the ${\cal O}\times{\cal O}$ OPE of a scalar primary ${\cal O}$, what is its total contribution to the vacuum four-point function $\langle {\cal O}{\cal O}{\cal O}{\cal O}\rangle$ as dictated by crossing symmetry? We solve this problem in 4d conformal field theories at leading order in $1/N$. Viewed holographically, this provides a field theory reconstruction of crossing-symmetric, four-point exchange amplitudes in AdS$_5$. Our solution takes the form of a resummation of the large spin solution to the crossing equations, supplemented by corrections at finite spin, required by crossing. The method can be applied to the exchange of operators of arbitrary twist $τ$ and spin $s$, although it vastly simplifies for even-integer twist, where we give explicit results. The output is the set of OPE data for the exchange of all double-trace operators $[{\cal O}{\cal O}]_{n,\ell}$. We find that the double-trace anomalous dimensions $γ_{n,\ell}$ are negative, monotonic and convex functions of $\ell$, for all $n$ and all $\ell>s$. This constitutes a holographic signature of bulk causality and classical dynamics of even-spin fields. We also find that the "derivative relation" between double-trace anomalous dimensions and OPE coefficients does not hold in general, and derive the explicit form of the deviation in several cases. Finally, we study large $n$ limits of $γ_{n,\ell}$, relevant for the Regge and bulk-point regimes.

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arXiv2018

M-Theory Reconstruction from (2,0) CFT and the Chiral Algebra Conjecture

We study various aspects of the M-theory uplift of the $A_{N-1}$ series of $(2,0)$ CFTs in 6d, which describe the worldvolume theory of $N$ M5 branes in flat space. We show how knowledge of OPE coefficients and scaling dimensions for this CFT can be directly translated into features of the momentum expansion of M-theory. In particular, we develop the expansion of the four-graviton S-matrix in M-theory via the flat space limit of four-point Mellin amplitudes. This includes correctly reproducing the known contribution of the $R^4$ term from 6d CFT data. Central to the calculation are the OPE coefficients for half-BPS operators not in the stress tensor multiplet, which we obtain for finite $N$ via the previously conjectured relation [arXiv:1404.1079] between the quantum ${\cal W}_N$ algebra and the $A_{N-1}$ $(2,0)$ CFT. We further explain how the $1/N$ expansion of ${\cal W}_N$ structure constants exhibits the structure of protected vertices in the M-theory action. Conversely, our results provide strong evidence for the chiral algebra conjecture.

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arXiv2018

Double-Trace Deformations of Conformal Correlations

Large $N$ conformal field theories often admit unitary renormalization group flows triggered by double-trace deformations. We compute the change in scalar four-point functions under double-trace flow, to leading order in $1/N$. This has a simple dual in AdS, where the flow is implemented by a change of boundary conditions, and provides a physical interpretation of single-valued conformal partial waves. We extract the change in the conformal dimensions and three-point coefficients of infinite families of double-trace composite operators. Some of these quantities are found to be sign-definite under double-trace flow. As an application, we derive anomalous dimensions of spinning double-trace operators comprised of non-singlet constituents in the $O(N)$ vector model.

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arXiv2017

Beyond $a=c$: Gravitational Couplings to Matter and the Stress Tensor OPE

We derive constraints on the operator product expansion of two stress tensors in conformal field theories (CFTs), both generic and holographic. We point out that in large $N$ CFTs with a large gap to single-trace higher spin operators, the stress tensor sector is not only universal, but isolated: that is, $\langle TT{\cal O}\rangle=0$, where ${\cal O}\neq T$ is a single-trace primary. We show that this follows from a suppression of $\langle TT{\cal O}\rangle$ by powers of the higher spin gap, $Δ_{\rm gap}$, dual to the bulk mass scale of higher spin particles, and explain why $\langle TT{\cal O}\rangle$ is a more sensitive probe of $Δ_{\rm gap}$ than $a-c$ in 4d CFTs. This result implies that, on the level of cubic couplings, the existence of a consistent truncation to Einstein gravity is a direct consequence of the absence of higher spins. By proving similar behavior for other couplings $\langle T{\cal O}_1{\cal O}_2\rangle$ where ${\cal O}_i$ have spin $s_i\leq 2$, we are led to propose that $1/Δ_{\rm gap}$ is the CFT "dual" of an AdS derivative in a classical action. These results are derived by imposing unitarity on mixed systems of spinning four-point functions in the Regge limit. Using the same method, but without imposing a large gap, we derive new inequalities on these three-point couplings that are valid in any CFT. These are generalizations of the Hofman-Maldacena conformal collider bounds. By combining the collider bound on $TT$ couplings to spin-2 operators with analyticity properties of CFT data, we argue that all three tensor structures of $\langle TTT\rangle$ in the free-field basis are nonzero in interacting CFTs.

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arXiv2017

Double-Trace Flows and the Swampland

We explore the idea that large $N$, non-supersymmetric conformal field theories with a parametrically large gap to higher spin single-trace operators may be obtained as infrared fixed points of relevant double-trace deformations of superconformal field theories. After recalling the AdS interpretation and some potential pathologies of such flows, we introduce a concrete example that appears to avoid them: the ABJM theory at finite $k$, deformed by $\int\!{\cal O}^2$, where ${\cal O}$ is the superconformal primary in the stress-tensor multiplet. We address its relation to recent conjectures based on weak gravity bounds, and discuss the prospects for a wider class of similarly viable flows. Next, we proceed to analyze the spectrum and correlation functions of the putative IR CFT, to leading non-trivial order in $1/N$. This includes analytic computations of the change under double-trace flow of connected four-point functions of ABJM superconformal primaries; and of the IR anomalous dimensions of infinite classes of double-trace composite operators. These would be the first analytic results for anomalous dimensions of finite-spin composite operators in any large $N$ CFT$_3$ with an Einstein gravity dual.

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arXiv2017

Constraints on Higher Spin CFT$_2$

We derive constraints on two-dimensional conformal field theories with higher spin symmetry due to unitarity, modular invariance, and causality. We focus on CFTs with $\mathcal{W}_N$ symmetry in the "irrational" regime, where $c>N-1$ and the theories have an infinite number of higher-spin primaries. The most powerful constraints come from positivity of the Kac matrix, which (unlike the Virasoro case) is non-trivial even when $c>N-1$. This places a lower bound on the dimension of any non-vacuum higher-spin primary state, which is linear in the central charge. At large $c$, this implies that the dual holographic theories of gravity in AdS$_3$, if they exist, have no local, perturbative degrees of freedom in the semi-classical limit.

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arXiv2016

Bounding the Space of Holographic CFTs with Chaos

Thermal states of quantum systems with many degrees of freedom are subject to a bound on the rate of onset of chaos, including a bound on the Lyapunov exponent, $λ_L\leq 2π/β$. We harness this bound to constrain the space of putative holographic CFTs and their would-be dual theories of AdS gravity. First, by studying out-of-time-order four-point functions, we discuss how $λ_L=2π/β$ in ordinary two-dimensional holographic CFTs is related to properties of the OPE at strong coupling. We then rule out the existence of unitary, sparse two-dimensional CFTs with large central charge and a set of higher spin currents of bounded spin; this implies the inconsistency of weakly coupled AdS$_3$ higher spin gravities without infinite towers of gauge fields, such as the $SL(N)$ theories. This fits naturally with the structure of higher-dimensional gravity, where finite towers of higher spin fields lead to acausality. On the other hand, unitary CFTs with classical $W_{\infty}[λ]$ symmetry, dual to 3D Vasiliev or hs[$λ$] higher spin gravities, do not violate the chaos bound, instead exhibiting no chaos: $λ_L=0$. Independently, we show that such theories violate unitarity for $|λ|>2$. These results encourage a tensionless string theory interpretation of the 3D Vasiliev theory. We also perform some CFT calculations of chaos in Rindler space in various dimensions.

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arXiv2016

Small Black Holes and Near-Extremal CFTs

Pure theories of AdS$_3$ quantum gravity are conjectured to be dual to CFTs with sparse spectra of light primary operators. The sparsest possible spectrum consistent with modular invariance includes only black hole states above the vacuum. Witten conjectured the existence of a family of extremal CFTs, which realize this spectrum for all admissible values of the central charge. We consider the quantum corrections to the classical spectrum, and propose a specific modification of Witten's conjecture which takes into account the existence of "small" black hole states. These have zero classical horizon area, with a calculable entropy attributed solely to loop effects. Our conjecture passes various consistency checks, especially when generalized to include theories with supersymmetry. In theories with $\mathcal{N}=2$ supersymmetry, this "near-extremal CFT" proposal precisely evades the no-go results of Gaberdiel et al.

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arXiv2015

General Results for Higher Spin Wilson Lines and Entanglement in Vasiliev Theory

We develop tools for the efficient evaluation of Wilson lines in 3D higher spin gravity, and use these to compute entanglement entropy in the hs$[λ]$ Vasiliev theory that governs the bulk side of the duality proposal of Gaberdiel and Gopakumar. Our main technical advance is the determination of SL(N) Wilson lines for arbitrary $N$, which, in suitable cases, enables us to analytically continue to hs$[λ]$ via $N \rightarrow -λ$. We apply this result to compute various quantities of interest, including entanglement entropy expanded perturbatively in the background higher spin charge, chemical potential, and interval size. This includes a computation of entanglement entropy in the higher spin black hole of the Vasiliev theory. These results are consistent with conformal field theory calculations. We also provide an alternative derivation of the Wilson line, by showing how it arises naturally from earlier work on scalar correlators in higher spin theory. The general picture that emerges is consistent with the statement that the SL(N) Wilson line computes the semiclassical $W_N$ vacuum block, and our results provide an explicit result for this object.

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arXiv2015

Positivity, negativity, and entanglement

We explore properties of the universal terms in the entanglement entropy and logarithmic negativity in 4d CFTs, aiming to clarify the ways in which they behave like the analogous entanglement measures in quantum mechanics. We show that, unlike entanglement entropy in finite-dimensional systems, the sign of the universal part of entanglement entropy is indeterminate. In particular, if and only if the central charges obey $a>c$, the entanglement across certain classes of entangling surfaces can become arbitrarily negative, depending on the geometry and topology of the surface. The negative contribution is proportional to the product of $a-c$ and the genus of the surface. Similarly, we show that in $a>c$ theories, the logarithmic negativity does not always exceed the entanglement entropy.

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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.

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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.

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arXiv2015

Virasoro conformal blocks in closed form

Virasoro conformal blocks are fixed in principle by symmetry, but a closed-form expression is unknown in the general case. In this work, we provide three closed-form expansions for the four-point Virasoro blocks on the sphere, for arbitrary operator dimensions and central charge $c$. We do so by solving known recursion relations. One representation is a sum over hypergeometric global blocks, whose coefficients we provide at arbitrary level. Another is a sum over semiclassical Virasoro blocks obtained in the limit in which two external operator dimensions scale linearly with large $c$. In both cases, the $1/c$ expansion of the Virasoro blocks is easily extracted. We discuss applications of these expansions to entanglement and thermality in conformal field theories and particle scattering in three-dimensional quantum gravity.

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arXiv2015

Renyi Entropies, the Analytic Bootstrap, and 3D Quantum Gravity at Higher Genus

We compute the contribution of the vacuum Virasoro representation to the genus-two partition function of an arbitrary CFT with central charge $c>1$. This is the perturbative pure gravity partition function in three dimensions. We employ a sewing construction, in which the partition function is expressed as a sum of sphere four-point functions of Virasoro vacuum descendants. For this purpose, we develop techniques to efficiently compute correlation functions of holomorphic operators, which by crossing symmetry are determined exactly by a finite number of OPE coefficients; this is an analytic implementation of the conformal bootstrap. Expanding the results in $1/c$, corresponding to the semiclassical bulk gravity expansion, we find that---unlike at genus one---the result does not truncate at finite loop order. Our results also allow us to extend earlier work on multiple-interval Renyi entropies and on the partition function in the separating degeneration limit.

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arXiv2014

Universality in the geometric dependence of Renyi entropy

We derive several new results for Renyi entropy, $S_n$, across generic entangling surfaces. We establish a perturbative expansion of the Renyi entropy, valid in generic quantum field theories, in deformations of a given density matrix. When applied to even-dimensional conformal field theories, these results lead to new constraints on the $n$-dependence, independent of any perturbative expansion. In 4d CFTs, we show that the $n$-dependence of the universal part of the ground state Renyi entropy for entangling surfaces with vanishing extrinsic curvature contribution is in fact fully determined by the Renyi entropy across a sphere in flat space. Using holography, we thus provide the first computations of Renyi entropy across non-spherical entangling surfaces in strongly coupled 4d CFTs. Furthermore, we address the possibility that in a wide class of 4d CFTs, the flat space spherical Renyi entropy also fixes the $n$-dependence of the extrinsic curvature contribution, and hence that of arbitrary entangling surfaces. Our results have intriguing implications for the structure of generic modular Hamiltonians.

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