arXiv subjects

Xi Dong

Publications and source records attributed to Xi Dong.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2016

Explicitly Broken Supersymmetry with Exactly Massless Moduli

There is an avatar of the little hierarchy problem of the MSSM in 3-dimensional supersymmetry. We propose a solution to this problem in AdS$_3$ based on the AdS/CFT correspondence. The bulk theory is a supergravity theory in which U(1) $\times$ U(1) R-symmetry is gauged by Chern-Simons fields. The bulk theory is deformed by a boundary term quadratic in the gauge fields. It breaks SUSY completely and sources an exactly marginal operator in the dual CFT. SUSY breaking is communicated by gauge interactions to bulk scalar fields and their spinor superpartners. Since the R-charges of scalar and spinor differ, this generates a SUSY breaking shift of their masses. The Ward identity facilitates the calculation of these mass shifts to any desired order in the strength of the deformation. Moduli fields are massless $R$-neutral bulk scalars with vanishing potential in the undeformed theory. These properties are maintained to all orders in the deformation despite the fact that moduli couple in the bulk to loops of R-charged fields.

hep-th↗

arXiv2016

Shape Dependence of Holographic Renyi Entropy in Conformal Field Theories

We develop a framework for studying the well-known universal term in the Renyi entropy for an arbitrary entangling region in four-dimensional conformal field theories that are holographically dual to gravitational theories. The shape dependence of the Renyi entropy $S_n$ is described by two coefficients: $f_b(n)$ for traceless extrinsic curvature deformations and $f_c(n)$ for Weyl tensor deformations. We provide the first calculation of the coefficient $f_b(n)$ in interacting theories by relating it to the stress tensor one-point function in a deformed hyperboloid background. The latter is then determined by a straightforward holographic calculation. Our results show that a previous conjecture $f_b(n) = f_c(n)$, motivated by surprising evidence from a variety of free field theories and studies of conical defects, fails holographically.

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arXiv2015

Generalized Gravitational Entropy from Total Derivative Action

We investigate the generalized gravitational entropy from total derivative terms in the gravitational action. Following the method of Lewkowycz and Maldacena, we find that the generalized gravitational entropy from total derivatives vanishes. We compare our results with the work of Astaneh, Patrushev, and Solodukhin. We find that if total derivatives produced nonzero entropy, the holographic and the field-theoretic universal terms of entanglement entropy would not match. Furthermore, the second law of thermodynamics could be violated if the entropy of total derivatives did not vanish.

hep-th↗

arXiv2015

AdS/CFT and the Little Hierarchy Problem

The AdS/CFT correspondence is applied to a close analogue of the little hierarchy problem in $AdS_{d+1}$, $d \geq 3$. The new mechanism requires a Maxwell field that gauges a $U(1)_R$ symmetry in a bulk supergravity theory with a negative cosmological constant. Supersymmetry is explicitly broken by a non-local boundary term with dimensionless coupling $h$. Non-locality appears to cause no pathology, and the SUSY breaking deformation engendered is exactly marginal. SUSY breaking effects in the bulk are computed using the $U(1)$ Ward identity. Conformal dimensions and thus masses of scalar and spinor partners are split simply because they carry different R-charges. However SUSY breaking effects cancel to all orders for R-neutral fields, even in diagrams with internal R-charged loops. SUSY breaking corrections can be summed to all orders in $h$. Diagrams involving graviton loops do not introduce any further SUSY breaking corrections. A possible scenario for a flat spacetime limit is outlined.

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arXiv2015

Mock Modular Mathieu Moonshine Modules

We construct super vertex operator algebras which lead to modules for moonshine relations connecting the four smaller sporadic simple Mathieu groups with distinguished mock modular forms. Starting with an orbifold of a free fermion theory, any subgroup of Co_0 that fixes a 3-dimensional subspace of its unique non-trivial 24-dimensional representation commutes with a certain N=4 superconformal algebra. Similarly, any subgroup of Co_0 that fixes a 2-dimensional subspace of the 24-dimensional representation commutes with a certain N=2 superconformal algebra. Through the decomposition of the corresponding twined partition functions into characters of the N=4 (resp. N=2) superconformal algebra, we arrive at mock modular forms which coincide with the graded characters of an infinite-dimensional Z-graded module for the corresponding group. The Mathieu groups are singled out amongst various other possibilities by the moonshine property: requiring the corresponding weak Jacobi forms to have certain asymptotic behaviour near cusps. Our constructions constitute the first examples of explicitly realized modules underlying moonshine phenomena relating mock modular forms to sporadic simple groups. Modules for other groups, including the sporadic groups of McLaughlin and Higman--Sims, are also discussed.

hep-th↗

arXiv2015

Bulk Locality and Quantum Error Correction in AdS/CFT

We point out a connection between the emergence of bulk locality in AdS/CFT and the theory of quantum error correction. Bulk notions such as Bogoliubov transformations, location in the radial direction, and the holographic entropy bound all have natural CFT interpretations in the language of quantum error correction. We also show that the question of whether bulk operator reconstruction works only in the causal wedge or all the way to the extremal surface is related to the question of whether or not the quantum error correcting code realized by AdS/CFT is also a "quantum secret sharing scheme", and suggest a tensor network calculation that may settle the issue. Interestingly, the version of quantum error correction which is best suited to our analysis is the somewhat nonstandard "operator algebra quantum error correction" of Beny, Kempf, and Kribs. Our proposal gives a precise formulation of the idea of "subregion-subregion" duality in AdS/CFT, and clarifies the limits of its validity.

hep-th↗

arXiv2015

Holographic RG flows with nematic IR phases

We construct zero-temperature geometries that interpolate between a Lifshitz fixed point in the UV and an IR phase that breaks spatial rotations but preserves translations. We work with a simple holographic model describing two massive gauge fields coupled to gravity and a neutral scalar. Our construction can be used to describe RG flows in non-relativistic, strongly coupled quantum systems with nematic order in the IR. In particular, when the dynamical critical exponent of the UV fixed point is z=2 and the IR scaling exponents are chosen appropriately, our model realizes holographically the scaling properties of the bosonic modes of the quadratic band crossing model.

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arXiv2014

New solutions with accelerated expansion in string theory

We present concrete solutions with accelerated expansion in string theory, requiring a small, tractable list of stress energy sources. We explain how this construction (and others in progress) evades previous no go theorems for simple accelerating solutions. Our solutions respect an approximate scaling symmetry and realize discrete sequences of values for the equation of state, including one with an accumulation point at w=-1 and another accumulating near w=-1/3 from below. In another class of models, a density of defects generates scaling solutions with accelerated expansion. We briefly discuss potential applications to dark energy phenomenology, and to holography for cosmology.

hep-th↗

arXiv2014

Holographic Reconstruction of General Bulk Surfaces

We propose a reconstruction of general bulk surfaces in any dimension in terms of the differential entropy in the boundary field theory. In particular, we extend the proof of Headrick et al. to calculate the area of a general class of surfaces, which have a 1-parameter foliation over a closed manifold. The area can be written in terms of extremal surfaces whose boundaries lie on ring-like regions in the field theory. We discuss when this construction has a description in terms of spatial entanglement entropy and suggest lessons for a more complete and covariant approach.

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arXiv2014

Controlled non-Fermi liquids from spacetime dependent couplings

We construct perturbatively controlled non-Fermi liquids in 3+1 spacetime dimensions, using mild power-law translation breaking interactions. Our mechanism balances the leading tree level effects from such gradients against quantum effects from the interaction between the Fermi surface and a critical boson. We exhibit this in a model where finite density fermions interact with a scalar field via a Yukawa coupling of the form $g(x)\propto |x|^κ$. The approximate non-Fermi liquid behavior arises in the limit of small $κ$ and persists over an exponentially large window of scales, being cut off by the regime where the coupling becomes large, or by superconducting instabilities. The translation breaking coupling introduces anisotropic deformations of the Fermi surface depending on the direction of the gradient. An extension of this mechanism to 2+1 dimensions could provide a strongly translation-breaking, but weakly coupled non-fermi liquid, something we leave for further work.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2014

Holographic Entanglement Entropy for General Higher Derivative Gravity

We propose a general formula for calculating the entanglement entropy in theories dual to higher derivative gravity where the Lagrangian is a contraction of Riemann tensors. Our formula consists of Wald's formula for the black hole entropy, as well as corrections involving the extrinsic curvature. We derive these corrections by noting that they arise from naively higher order contributions to the action which are enhanced due to would-be logarithmic divergences. Our formula reproduces the Jacobson-Myers entropy in the context of Lovelock gravity, and agrees with existing results for general four-derivative gravity. We emphasize that the formula should be evaluated on a particular bulk surface whose location can in principle be determined by solving the equations of motion with conical boundary conditions. This may be difficult in practice, and an alternative method is desirable. A natural prescription is simply minimizing our formula, analogous to the Ryu-Takayanagi prescription for Einstein gravity. We show that this is correct in several examples including Lovelock and general four-derivative gravity.

hep-th↗

arXiv2013

Constraints on RG Flows from Holographic Entanglement Entropy

We examine the RG flow of a candidate c-function, extracted from the holographic entanglement entropy of a strip-shaped region, for theories with broken Lorentz invariance. We clarify the conditions on the geometry that lead to a break-down of monotonic RG flows as is expected for generic Lorentz-violating field theories. Nevertheless we identify a set of simple criteria on the UV behavior of the geometry which guarantee a monotonic c-function. Our analysis can thus be used as a guiding principle for the construction of monotonic RG trajectories, and can also prove useful for excluding possible IR behaviors of the theory.

hep-th↗

arXiv2013

Mathieu Moonshine and N=2 String Compactifications

There is a `Mathieu moonshine' relating the elliptic genus of K3 to the sporadic group M_{24}. Here, we give evidence that this moonshine extends to part of the web of dualities connecting heterotic strings compactified on K3 \times T^2 to type IIA strings compactified on Calabi-Yau threefolds. We demonstrate that dimensions of M_{24} representations govern the new supersymmetric index of the heterotic compactifications, and appear in the Gromov--Witten invariants of the dual Calabi-Yau threefolds, which are elliptic fibrations over the Hirzebruch surfaces F_n.

hep-th↗

arXiv2013

Moduli Stabilization and the Holographic RG for AdS and dS

We relate moduli stabilization ($V'=0$) in the bulk of $AdS_D$ or $dS_D$ to basic properties of the Wilsonian effective action in the holographic dual theory on $dS_{D-1}$: the single-trace terms in the action have vanishing beta functions, and higher-trace couplings are determined purely from lower-trace ones. In the de Sitter case, this encodes the maximal symmetry of the bulk spacetime in a quantity which is accessible within an observer patch. Along the way, we clarify the role of counterterms, constraints, and operator redundancy in the Wilsonian holographic RG prescription, reproducing the expected behavior of the trace of the stress-energy tensor in the dual for both $AdS_D$ and $dS_D$. We further show that metastability of the gravity-side potential energy corresponds to a nonperturbatively small imaginary contribution to the Wilsonian action of pure de Sitter, a result consistent with the need for additional degrees of freedom in the holographic description of its ultimate decay.

hep-th↗

arXiv2013

Holographic entanglement beyond classical gravity

The Renyi entropies and entanglement entropy of 1+1 CFTs with gravity duals can be computed by explicit construction of the bulk spacetimes dual to branched covers of the boundary geometry. At the classical level in the bulk this has recently been shown to reproduce the conjectured Ryu-Takayanagi formula for the holographic entanglement entropy. We study the one-loop bulk corrections to this formula. The functional determinants in the bulk geometries are given by a sum over certain words of generators of the Schottky group of the branched cover. For the case of two disjoint intervals on a line we obtain analytic answers for the one-loop entanglement entropy in an expansion in small cross-ratio. These reproduce and go beyond anticipated universal terms that are not visible classically in the bulk. We also consider the case of a single interval on a circle at finite temperature. At high temperatures we show that the one-loop contributions introduce expected finite size corrections to the entanglement entropy that are not present classically. At low temperatures, the one-loop corrections capture the mixed nature of the density matrix, also not visible classically below the Hawking-Page temperature.

hep-th↗

arXiv2013

The Benefits of Stress: Resolution of the Lifshitz Singularity

Through the AdS/CFT correspondence, Lifshitz spacetimes describe field theories with dynamical scaling ($z \neq 1$). Although curvature invariants are small, the Lifshitz metric exhibits a null singularity in the IR with a large tidal force that excites string oscillator modes. However, Lifshitz is not a vacuum solution of the Einstein equations -- the metric is supported by nontrivial matter content which must be taken into account in analyzing the propagation of test objects. In this paper, we consider the interaction of a string with a D0-brane density in the IR which supports a class of UV-complete $z=2$ Lifshitz constructions. We show that string/D-brane scattering in the Regge limit slows the string significantly, preventing divergent mode production and resolving the would-be singularity in string propagation.

hep-th↗

arXiv2012

Perturbative Critical Behavior from Spacetime Dependent Couplings

We find novel perturbative fixed points by introducing mildly spacetime-dependent couplings into otherwise marginal terms. In four-dimensional QFT, these are physical analogues of the small-$ε$ Wilson-Fisher fixed point. Rather than considering $4-ε$ dimensions, we stay in four dimensions but introduce couplings whose leading spacetime dependence is of the form $λx^κμ^κ$, with a small parameter $κ$ playing a role analogous to $ε$. We show, in $ϕ^4$ theory and in QED and QCD with massless flavors, that this leads to a critical theory under perturbative control over an exponentially wide window of spacetime positions $x$. The exact fixed point coupling $λ_*(x)$ in our theory is identical to the running coupling of the translationally invariant theory, with the scale replaced by $1/x$. Similar statements hold for three-dimensional $ϕ^6$ theories and two-dimensional sigma models with curved target spaces. We also describe strongly coupled examples using conformal perturbation theory.

hep-th↗

arXiv2012

Aspects of holography for theories with hyperscaling violation

We analyze various aspects of the recently proposed holographic theories with general dynamical critical exponent z and hyperscaling violation exponent $θ$. We first find the basic constraints on $z, θ$ from the gravity side, and compute the stress-energy tensor expectation values and scalar two-point functions. Massive correlators exhibit a nontrivial exponential behavior at long distances, controlled by $θ$. At short distance, the two-point functions become power-law, with a universal form for $θ> 0$. Next, the calculation of the holographic entanglement entropy reveals the existence of novel phases which violate the area law. The entropy in these phases has a behavior that interpolates between that of a Fermi surface and that exhibited by systems with extensive entanglement entropy. Finally, we describe microscopic embeddings of some $θ\neq 0$ metrics into full string theory models -- these metrics characterize large regions of the parameter space of Dp-brane metrics for $p\neq 3$. For instance, the theory of N D2-branes in IIA supergravity has z=1 and $θ= -1/3$ over a wide range of scales, at large $g_s N$.

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