arXiv subjects

Henri Verschelde

Publications and source records attributed to Henri Verschelde.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2021

Eigenbranes in Jackiw-Teitelboim gravity

It was proven recently that JT gravity can be defined as an ensemble of L x L Hermitian matrices. We point out that the eigenvalues of the matrix correspond in JT gravity to FZZT-type boundaries on which spacetimes can end. We then investigate an ensemble of matrices with 1<<N<<L eigenvalues held fixed. This corresponds to a version of JT gravity which includes N FZZT type boundaries in the path integral contour and which is found to emulate a discrete quantum chaotic system. In particular this version of JT gravity can capture the behavior of finite-volume holographic correlators at late times, including erratic oscillations.

hep-th↗

arXiv2021

Unruh detectors and quantum chaos in JT gravity

We identify the spectral properties of Hawking-Unruh radiation in the eternal black hole at ultra low energies as a probe for the chaotic level statistics of quantum black holes. Level repulsion implies that there are barely Hawking particles with an energy smaller than the level separation. This effect is experimentally accessible by probing the Unruh heat bath with a linear detector. We provide evidence for this effect via explicit and exact calculations in JT gravity building on a radar definition of bulk observables in the model. Similar results are observed for the bath energy density. This universal feature of eternal Hawking radiation should resonate into the evaporating setup.

hep-th↗

arXiv2019

Fine Structure of Jackiw-Teitelboim Quantum Gravity

We investigate structural aspects of JT gravity through its BF description. In particular, we provide evidence that JT gravity should be thought of as (a coset of) the noncompact subsemigroup SL$^+$(2,R) BF theory. We highlight physical implications, including the famous sinh Plancherel measure. Exploiting this perspective, we investigate JT gravity on more generic manifolds with emphasis on the edge degrees of freedom on entangling surfaces and factorization. It is found that the one-sided JT gravity degrees of freedom are described not just by a Schwarzian on the asymptotic boundary, but also include frozen SL$^+$(2,R) degrees of freedom on the horizon, identifiable as JT gravity black hole states. Configurations with two asymptotic boundaries are linked to 2d Liouville CFT on the torus surface.

hep-th↗

arXiv2019

Clocks and Rods in Jackiw-Teitelboim Quantum Gravity

We specify bulk coordinates in Jackiw-Teitelboim (JT) gravity using a boundary-intrinsic radar definition. This allows us to study and calculate exactly diff-invariant bulk correlation functions of matter-coupled JT gravity, which are found to satisfy microcausality. We observe that quantum gravity effects dominate near-horizon matter correlation functions. This shows that quantum matter in classical curved spacetime is not a sensible model for near-horizon matter-coupled JT gravity. This is how JT gravity, given our choice of bulk frame, evades an information paradox. This echoes into the quantum expectation value of the near-horizon metric, whose analysis is extended from the disk model to the recently proposed topological completion of JT gravity. Due to quantum effects, at distances of order the Planck length to the horizon, a dramatic breakdown of Rindler geometry is observed.

hep-th↗

arXiv2019

A response function framework for the dynamics of meandering or large-core spiral waves and modulated traveling waves

In many oscillatory or excitable systems, dynamical patterns emerge which are stationary or periodic up in a moving frame of reference. Examples include traveling waves or spiral waves in chemical systems or cardiac tissue. We present a unified theoretical framework for the drift of such patterns under small external perturbations, in terms of overlap integrals between the perturbation and the adjoint critical eigenfunctions of the linearised operator (i.e. `response functions'). For spiral waves, the finite radius of the spiral tip trajectory as well as spiral wave meander are taken into account. Different coordinates systems can be chosen, depending on whether one wants to predict the motion of the spiral wave tip, the time-averaged tip path, or the center of the meander flower. The framework is applied to analyse the drift of a meandering spiral wave in a constant external field in different regimes.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2018

The Schwarzian Theory - A Wilson Line Perspective

We provide a holographic perspective on correlation functions in Schwarzian quantum mechanics, as boundary-anchored Wilson line correlators in Jackiw-Teitelboim gravity. We first study compact groups and identify the diagrammatic representation of bilocal correlators of the particle-on-a-group model as Wilson line correlators in its 2d holographic BF description. We generalize to the Hamiltonian reduction of SL(2,R) and derive the Schwarzian correlation functions. Out-of-time ordered correlators are determined by crossing Wilson lines, giving a 6j-symbol, in agreement with 2d CFT results.

hep-th↗

arXiv2018

Edge Dynamics from the Path Integral: Maxwell and Yang-Mills

We derive an action describing edge dynamics on interfaces for gauge theories (Maxwell and Yang-Mills) using the path integral. The canonical structure of the edge theory is deduced and the thermal partition function calculated. We test the edge action in several applications. For Maxwell in Rindler space, we recover earlier results, now embedded in a dynamical canonical framework. A second application is 2d Yang-Mills theory where the boundary action becomes just the particle-on-a-group action. Correlators of boundary-anchored Wilson lines in 2d Yang-Mills are matched with, and identified as correlators of bilocal operators in the particle-on-a-group edge model.

hep-th↗

arXiv2018

Edge State Quantization: Vector Fields in Rindler

We present a detailed discussion of the entanglement structure of vector fields through canonical quantization. We quantize Maxwell theory in Rindler space in Lorenz gauge, discuss the Hilbert space structure and analyze the Unruh effect. As a warm-up, in 1+1 dimensions, we compute the spectrum and prove that the theory is thermodynamically trivial. In d+1 dimensions, we identify the edge sector as eigenstates of horizon electric flux or equivalently as states representing large gauge transformations, localized on the horizon. The edge Hilbert space is generated by inserting a generic combination of Wilson line punctures in the edge vacuum, and the edge states are identified as Maxwell microstates of the black hole. This construction is repeated for Proca theory. Extensions to tensor field theories, and the link with Chern-Simons are discussed.

hep-th↗

arXiv2018

Inversion of electromagnetic induction data using a 2D geophysical response function

Electromagnetic induction methods are a common means for geophysical survey. For soil structures that are invariant in one spatial dimension such as trench structures, we propose a fast forward model based on a 2D response function, taking into account sharp horizontal and vertical transitions in the electrical conductivity. The 2D model is used to invert trench structures from a synthetic dataset. The propsed method can determine trench parameters (width, height, steepness of the slope) more accurately than methods based on regularization of the 1D response function.

physics.geo-ph↗

arXiv2017

Filament tension and phase-locked drift of meandering scroll waves

Rotating scroll waves are self-organising patterns which are found in many oscillating or excitable systems. Here we show that quasi-periodic (meandering) scroll waves, which include the rotors that organise cardiac arrhythmias, exhibit filament tension when averaged over the meander cycle. With strong filament curvature or medium thickness gradients, however, scroll wave dynamics are governed by phase-locked drift instead of filament tension. Our results are validated in computational models of cycloidal meander and a cardiac tissue model with linear core.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2016

Confinement and string breaking for QED$_2$ in the Hamiltonian picture

The formalism of matrix product states is used to perform a numerical study of 1+1 dimensional QED -- also known as the (massive) Schwinger model -- in the presence of an external static `quark' and `antiquark'. We obtain a detailed picture of the transition from the confining state at short interquark distances to the broken-string `hadronized' state at large distances and this for a wide range of couplings, recovering the predicted behavior both in the weak and strong coupling limit of the continuum theory. In addition to the relevant local observables like charge and electric field, we compute the (bipartite) entanglement entropy and show that subtraction of its vacuum value results in a UV-finite quantity. We find that both string formation and string breaking leave a clear imprint on the resulting entropy profile. Finally, we also study the case of fractional probe charges, simulating for the first time the phenomenon of partial string breaking.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2016

String Theory in Polar Coordinates and the Vanishing of the One-Loop Rindler Entropy

We analyze the string spectrum of flat space in polar coordinates, following the small curvature limit of the $SL(2,\mathbb{R})/U(1)$ cigar CFT. We first analyze the partition function of the cigar itself, making some clarifications of the structure of the spectrum that have escaped attention up to this point. The superstring spectrum (type 0 and type II) is shown to exhibit an involution symmetry, that survives the small curvature limit. We classify all marginal states in polar coordinates for type II superstrings, with emphasis on their links and their superconformal structure. This classification is confirmed by an explicit large $τ_2$ analysis of the partition function. Next we compare three approaches towards the type II genus one entropy in Rindler space: using a sum-over-fields strategy, using a Melvin model approach and finally using a saddle point method on the cigar partition function. In each case we highlight possible obstructions and motivate that the correct procedures yield a vanishing result: $S=0$. We finally discuss how the QFT UV divergences of the fields in the spectrum disappear when computing the free energy and entropy using Euclidean techniques.

hep-th↗

arXiv2016

Revisiting noninteracting string partition functions in Rindler space

We revisit non-interacting string partition functions in Rindler space by summing over fields in the spectrum. In field theory, the total partition function splits in a natural way in a piece that does not contain surface terms and a piece consisting of solely the so-called edge states. For open strings, we illustrate that surface contributions to the higher spin fields correspond to open strings piercing the Rindler origin, unifying the higher spin surface contributions in string language. For closed strings, we demonstrate that the string partition function is not quite the same as the sum over the partition functions of the fields in the spectrum: an infinite overcounting is present for the latter. Next we study the partition functions obtained by excluding the surface terms. Using recent results of JHEP 1505 (2015) 106, this construction, first done by Emparan, can be put on much firmer ground. We generalize to type II and heterotic superstrings and demonstrate modular invariance. All of these exhibit an IR divergence that can be interpreted as a maximal acceleration close to the black hole horizon. Ultimately, since these partition functions are only part of the full story, divergences here should not be viewed as a failure of string theory: maximal acceleration is a feature of a faulty treatment of the higher spin fields in the string spectrum. We comment on the relevance of this to Solodukhin's recent proposal. A possible link with the firewall paradox is apparent.

hep-th↗

arXiv2016

Hagedorn temperature and physics of black holes

A mini-review devoted to some implications of the Hagedorn temperature for black hole physics. The existence of a limiting temperature is a generic feature of string models. The Hagedorn temperature was introduced first in the context of hadronic physics. Nowadays, the emphasis is shifted to fundamental strings which might be a necessary ingredient to obtain a consistent theory of black holes. The point is that, in field theory, the local temperature close to the horizon could be arbitrarily high, and this observation is difficult to reconcile with the finiteness of the entropy of black holes. After preliminary remarks, we review our recent attempt to evaluate the entropy of large black holes in terms of fundamental strings. We also speculate on implications for dynamics of large-N gauge theories arising within holographic models.

hep-th↗

arXiv2016

The long string at the stretched horizon and the entropy of large non-extremal black holes

We discuss how long strings can arise at the stretched horizon and how they can account for the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy. We use the thermal scalar field theory to derive the asymptotic density of states and corresponding stress tensor of a microcanonical long string gas in Rindler space. We show that the equality of the Hagedorn and Hawking temperatures gives rise to the tree-level entropy of large black holes in accordance with the Bekenstein-Hawking-Wald formula.

hep-th↗

arXiv2015

Variational principle for non-linear wave propagation in dissipative systems

The dynamics of many natural systems is dominated by non-linear waves propagating through the medium. We show that the dynamics of non-linear wave fronts with positive surface tension can be formulated as a gradient system. The variational potential is simply given by a linear combination of the occupied volume and surface area of the wave front, and changes monotonically in time. Finally, we demonstrate that vortex filaments can be written as a gradient system only if their binormal velocity component vanishes, which occurs in chemical system with equal diffusion of reactants.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2015

Perturbative String Thermodynamics near Black Hole Horizons

We provide further computations and ideas to the problem of near-Hagedorn string thermodynamics near (uncharged) black hole horizons, building upon our earlier work JHEP 1403 (2014) 086. The relevance of long strings to one-loop black hole thermodynamics is emphasized. We then provide an argument in favor of the absence of $α'$-corrections for the (quadratic) heterotic thermal scalar action in Rindler space. We also compute the large $k$ limit of the cigar orbifold partition functions (for both bosonic and type II superstrings) which allows a better comparison between the flat cones and the cigar cones. A discussion is made on the general McClain-Roth-O'Brien-Tan theorem and on the fact that different torus embeddings lead to different aspects of string thermodynamics. The black hole/string correspondence principle for the 2d black hole is discussed in terms of the thermal scalar. Finally, we present an argument to deal with arbitrary higher genus partition functions, suggesting the breakdown of string perturbation theory (in $g_s$) to compute thermodynamical quantities in black hole spacetimes.

hep-th↗

arXiv2015

On the Relevance of the Thermal Scalar

We discuss near-Hagedorn string thermodynamics in general spacetimes using the formalism of the thermal scalar. Building upon earlier work by Horowitz and Polchinski, we relate several properties of the thermal scalar field theory (i.e. the stress tensor and U(1) charge) to properties of the highly excited or near-Hagedorn string gas. We apply the formulas on several examples. We find the pressureless near-Hagedorn string gas in flat space and a non-vanishing (angular) string charge in $AdS_3$. We also find the thermal stress tensor for the highly excited string gas in Rindler space.

hep-th↗