arXiv subjects

Per Kraus

Publications and source records attributed to Per Kraus.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Enhanced Correlations in Hawking Radiation from Near-Extremal Collapse

We consider the formation of a near-extremal Reissner-Nordstrom black hole by collapse, and show how to compute correlations in the outgoing Hawking radiation due to enhanced gravitational backreaction effects in the near-horizon region. This is done by reducing to the s-wave and employing the Hamiltonian formulation of Einstein-Maxwell theory coupled to a scalar field. Solving the constraints yields an action for the scalar field that incorporates gravitational backreaction effects at the quantum level, governed by an effective coupling g = G/(\pi r_0^3 T_H) that grows at low temperature, as in recent Schwarzian-based analyses. This action produces corrections to the free field Hawking state which are imprinted on correlation functions of the Hawking radiation measured at null infinity. As part of our analysis, we show that this action evaluated in the AdS_2 region is equivalent, at the level of all tree-level boundary correlators, to the standard JT/Schwarzian description coupled to dressed bilocal operators. We also reproduce some one-loop results. In our approach, metric fluctuations are included quantum mechanically through the reduced scalar action, rather than through a semiclassical expectation value, and our computation of the radiation manifestly reduces to Hawking's original treatment when metric fluctuations are neglected.

hep-th↗

arXiv2026

The gravitational S-matrix from the path integral: asymptotic symmetries and soft theorems

We extend a previously developed formulation of the S-matrix, based on a path integral with asymptotic boundary conditions, to include gravity. The path integral defines a Carrollian boundary partition function whose invariance under asymptotic symmetries implies Ward identities obeyed by the associated boundary correlators, which are simply related to standard S-matrix elements. We develop this in the context of extended BMS transformations at tree level. Modulo well-known subtleties associated with poles in the superrotations and corner terms, this leads to an efficient derivation of the leading and subleading soft graviton theorems from BMS symmetry. Our general arguments are verified by explicit diagrammatic computation of specific terms in the partition function, which are shown to satisfy the Ward identities. We also show how, in our context, the subleading soft theorem is fixed by Poincar\'e Ward identities together with the leading soft theorem.

hep-th↗

arXiv2025

Hamiltonian approach to near-extremal black hole evaporation and backreaction

We investigate radiation from near-extremal black holes formed by collapse, focusing on the role of large backreaction effects arising from gravitational fluctuations in the near-horizon region. Such effects have previously been identified from computations based on JT gravity and its Schwarzian description, most notably for the Euclidean partition function. Restricting attention to the s-wave sector, we integrate out gravity by solving the constraint equations in the Hamiltonian formalism, obtaining an effective scalar action with a coupling that grows at low temperature, thus enabling a real-time treatment of quantum backreaction. We then take initial steps toward evaluating the impact of this interaction on correlations of the outgoing radiation, and compare our findings with earlier results.

hep-th↗

arXiv2025

Carrollian Partition Function for Bulk Yang-Mills Theory

The path integral over massless quantum fields in Minkowski space with scattering boundary conditions defines a Carrollian partition function on the null boundary. We develop this framework for non-Abelian gauge theory, both from a general perspective and through explicit examples that highlight subtle aspects of soft modes and asymptotic symmetries. These include falloff conditions, Goldstone modes and their antipodal matching, and factors of two associated with conditionally convergent integrals arising in the derivation of soft theorems. We employ path integral (rather than canonical) methods throughout.

hep-th↗

arXiv2025

Codimension one defects in free scalar field theory

We study various aspects of codimension one defects in free scalar field theory, with particular emphasis on line defects in two-dimensions. These defects are generically non-conformal, but include conformal and topological defects as special cases. Our analysis is based on the interplay between two complementary descriptions, the first involving matching conditions imposed on fields and their derivatives across the defect, and the second on the resummation of perturbation theory in terms of renormalized defect couplings. Using either description as appropriate we compute a variety of observables: correlators of fields in the presence of such defects; the defect anomalous dimension; multiple defects and their fusion; canonical quantization and instabilities; ring shaped defects with application to the g-theorem and the entanglement entropy of accelerating defects; defects on the torus and Cardy formulas for the asymptotic density of states of the defect Hilbert space; and quenches produced by spacelike defects. The simplicity of the model allows for explicit computation of all these quantities, and provides a starting point for more complicated theories involving interactions.

hep-th↗

arXiv2024

Carrollian Partition Functions and the Flat Limit of AdS

The formulation of the S-matrix as a path integral with specified asymptotic boundary conditions naturally leads to the realization of a Carrollian partition function defined on the boundary of Minkowski space. This partition function, specified at past and future null infinity in the case of massless particles, generates Carrollian correlation functions that encode the S-matrix. We explore this connection, including the realization of symmetries, soft theorems arising from large gauge transformations, and the correspondence with standard momentum space amplitudes. This framework is also well-suited for embedding the Minkowski space S-matrix into the AdS/CFT duality in the large radius limit. In particular, we identify the AdS and Carrollian partition functions through a simple map between their respective asymptotic data, establishing a direct correspondence between the actions of symmetries on both sides. Our approach thus provides a coherent framework that ties together various topics extensively studied in recent and past literature.

hep-th↗

arXiv2023

S-Matrix Path Integral Approach to Symmetries and Soft Theorems

We explore a formulation of the S-matrix in terms of the path integral with specified asymptotic data, as originally proposed by Arefeva, Faddeev, and Slavnov. In the tree approximation the S-matrix is equal to the exponential of the classical action evaluated on-shell. This formulation is well-suited to questions involving asymptotic symmetries, as it avoids reference to non-gauge/diffeomorphism invariant bulk correlators or sources at intermediate stages. We show that the soft photon theorem, originally derived by Weinberg and more recently connected to asymptotic symmetries by Strominger and collaborators, follows rather simply from invariance of the action under large gauge transformations applied to the asymptotic data. We also show that this formalism allows for efficient computation of the S-matrix in curved spacetime, including particle production due to a time dependent metric.

hep-th↗

arXiv2023

Systematics of Boundary Actions in Gauge Theory and Gravity

We undertake a general study of the boundary (or edge) modes that arise in gauge and gravitational theories defined on a space with boundary, either asymptotic or at finite distance, focusing on efficient techniques for computing the corresponding boundary action. Such actions capture all the dynamics of the system that are implied by its asymptotic symmetry group, such as correlation functions of the corresponding conserved currents. Working in the covariant phase space formalism, we develop a collection of approaches for isolating the boundary modes and their dynamics, and illustrate with various examples, notably AdS$_3$ gravity (with and without a gravitational Chern-Simons terms) subject to assorted boundary conditions.

hep-th↗

arXiv2022

Refining the Cutoff 3d Gravity / $T\bar{T}$ Correspondence

Pure gravity in AdS$_3$ is a theory of boundary excitations, most simply expressed as a constrained free scalar with an improved stress tensor that is needed to match the Brown--Henneaux central charge. Excising a finite part of AdS gives rise to a static gauge Nambu--Goto action for the boundary graviton. We show that this is the $T\bar{T}$ deformation of the infinite volume theory, as the effect of the improvement term on the deformed action can be absorbed into a field redefinition. The classical gravitational stress tensor is reproduced order by order by the $T\bar{T}$ trace equation. We calculate the finite volume energy spectrum in static gauge and find that the trace equation imposes sufficient constraints on the ordering ambiguities to guarantee agreement with the light-cone gauge prediction. The correlation functions, however, are not completely fixed by the trace equation. We show how both the gravitational action and the $T\bar{T}$ deformation allow for finite improvement terms, and we match these to the undetermined total derivative terms in Zamolodchikov's point splitting definition of the $T\bar{T}$ operator.

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 $\Lambda$. 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↗

arXiv2021

3D Gravity in a Box

The quantization of pure 3D gravity with Dirichlet boundary conditions on a finite boundary is of interest both as a model of quantum gravity in which one can compute quantities which are "more local" than S-matrices or asymptotic boundary correlators, and for its proposed holographic duality to $T \overline{T}$-deformed CFTs. In this work we apply covariant phase space methods to deduce the Poisson bracket algebra of boundary observables. The result is a one-parameter nonlinear deformation of the usual Virasoro algebra of asymptotically AdS$_3$ gravity. This algebra should be obeyed by the stress tensor in any $T\overline{T}$-deformed holographic CFT. We next initiate quantization of this system within the general framework of coadjoint orbits, obtaining - in perturbation theory - a deformed version of the Alekseev-Shatashvili symplectic form and its associated geometric action. The resulting energy spectrum is consistent with the expected spectrum of $T\overline{T}$-deformed theories, although we only carry out the explicit comparison to $\mathcal{O}(1/\sqrt{c})$ in the $1/c$ expansion.

hep-th↗

arXiv2021

Adding Flavor to the Narain Ensemble

We revisit the proposal that the ensemble average over free boson CFTs in two dimensions - parameterized by Narain's moduli space - is dual to an exotic theory of gravity in three dimensions dubbed $U(1)$ gravity. We consider flavored partition functions, where the usual genus $g$ partition function is weighted by Wilson lines coupled to the conserved $U(1)$ currents of these theories. These flavored partition functions obey a heat equation which relates deformations of the Riemann surface moduli to those of the chemical potentials which measure these $U(1)$ charges. This allows us to derive a Siegel-Weil formula which computes the average of these flavored partition functions. The result takes the form of a "sum over geometries," albeit with modifications relative to the unflavored case.

hep-th↗

arXiv2020

Geometrizing $T\bar{T}$

The $T\bar{T}$ deformation can be formulated as a dynamical change of coordinates. We establish and generalize this relation to curved spaces by coupling the undeformed theory to 2d gravity. For curved space the dynamical change of coordinates is supplemented by a dynamical Weyl transformation. We also sharpen the holographic correspondence to cutoff AdS$_3$ in multiple ways. First, we show that the action of the annular region between the cutoff surface and the boundary of AdS$_3$ is given precisely by the $T\bar{T}$ operator integrated over either the cutoff surface or the asymptotic boundary. Then we derive dynamical coordinate and Weyl transformations directly from the bulk. Finally, we reproduce the flow equation for the deformed stress tensor from the cutoff geometry.

hep-th↗

arXiv2020

Anomalous Dimensions from Thermal AdS Partition Functions

We develop an efficient method for computing thermal partition functions of weakly coupled scalar fields in AdS. We consider quartic contact interactions and show how to evaluate the relevant two-loop vacuum diagrams without performing any explicit AdS integration, the key step being the use of Kallen-Lehmann type identities. This leads to a simple method for extracting double-trace anomalous dimensions in any spacetime dimension, recovering known first-order results in a streamlined fashion.

hep-th↗

arXiv2019

Gravitational Wilson lines in AdS$_{\bf 3}$

The construction of gravitational Wilson lines in the Chern-Simons formulation of $AdS_3$ gravity in terms of composite operators in the dual boundary conformal field theory is reviewed. New evidence is presented that the Wilson line, dimensionally regularized and suitably renormalized, behaves as a bi-local operator of two conformal primaries whose dimension is predicted by SL(2,R) current algebra.

hep-th↗

arXiv2019

Semi-classical Virasoro blocks: proof of exponentiation

Virasoro conformal blocks are expected to exponentiate in the limit of large central charge $c$ and large operator dimensions $h_i$, with the ratios $h_i/c$ held fixed. We prove this by employing the oscillator formulation of the Virasoro algebra and its representations. The techniques developed are then used to provide new derivations of some standard results on conformal blocks.

hep-th↗

arXiv2019

Quantum thermalization and Virasoro symmetry

We initiate a systematic study of high energy matrix elements of local operators in 2d CFT. Knowledge of these is required in order to determine whether the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis (ETH) can hold in such theories. Most high energy states are high level Virasoro descendants, and by employing an oscillator representation of the Virasoro algebra we develop an efficient method for computing matrix elements of primary operators in such states. In parameter regimes where we expect (e.g. from AdS/CFT intuition) thermalization to occur, we observe striking patterns in the matrix elements: diagonal matrix elements are smoothly varying and off-diagonal elements, while nonzero, are power-law suppressed compared to the diagonal elements. We discuss the implications of these universal properties of 2d CFTs in regard to their compatibility with ETH.

hep-th↗

arXiv2019

Typicality and thermality in 2d CFT

We identify typical high energy eigenstates in two-dimensional conformal field theories at finite $c$ and establish that correlation functions of the stress tensor in such states are accurately thermal as defined by the standard canonical ensemble. Typical states of dimension $h$ are shown to be typical level $h/c$ descendants. In the AdS$_3$/CFT$_2$ correspondence, it is such states that should be compared to black holes in the bulk. We also discuss the discrepancy between thermal correlators and those computed in high energy primary states: the latter are reproduced instead by a generalized Gibbs ensemble with extreme values chosen for the chemical potentials conjugate to the KdV charges.

hep-th↗