AdS Gravity Research Articles

Symmetries at causal boundaries in 2D and 3D gravity

We study 2d and 3d gravity theories on spacetimes with causal (timelike or null) codimension one boundaries while allowing for variations in the position of the boundary. We construct the corresponding solution phase space and specify boundary degrees freedom by analysing boundary (surface) charges labelling them. We discuss Y and W freedoms and change of slicing in the solution space. For D dimensional case we find D + 1 surface charges, which are generic functions over the causal boundary. We show that there exist solution space slicings in which the charges are integrable. For the 3d case there exists an integrable slicing where charge algebra takes the form of Heisenberg ⊕ mathcal{A} 3 where mathcal{A} 3 is two copies of Virasoro at Brown-Henneaux central charge for AdS3 gravity and BMS3 for the 3d flat space gravity.

Surface charges in Chern-Simons gravity with Toverline{T} deformation

The Toverline{T} deformed 2D CFTs correspond to AdS3 gravity with Dirichlet boundary condition at finite cutoff or equivalently a mixed boundary condition at spatial infinity. In this work, we use the latter perspective and Chern-Simons formalism of AdS3 gravity to construct the surface charges and associated algebra in Toverline{T} deformed theories. Starting from the Bañados geometry, we obtain the Chern-Simons gauge fields for the Toverline{T} deformed geometry, which are parametrized by two independent charges. With help of the mixed boundary condition, the residual gauge symmetries of the deformed gauge fields and the associated surface charges were obtained respectively. The charge algebra turns out to be a non-linear deformed Virasoro algebra, which was obtained in different way by applying the cutoff perspective. Finally, we propose a way to construct the time-independent charges from these surface charges and they satisfy the field-dependent Virasoro algebra.

One-loop partition function, gauge accessibility and spectra in AdS3 gravity

We continue the study of the one-loop partition function of AdS3 gravity with focus on the square-integrability condition on the fluctuating fields. In a previous work we found that the Brown-Henneaux boundary conditions follow directly from the L2 condition. Here we rederive the partition function as a ratio of Laplacian determinants by performing a suitable decomposition of the metric fluctuations. We pay special attention to the asymptotics of the fields appearing in the partition function. We also show that in the usual computation using ghost fields for the de Donder gauge, such gauge condition is accessible precisely for square-integrable ghost fields. Finally, we compute the spectrum of the relevant Laplacians in thermal AdS3, in particular noticing that there are no isolated eigenvalues, only essential spectrum. This last result supports the analytic continuation approach of David, Gaberdiel and Gopakumar. The purely essential spectra found are consistent with the independent results of Lee and Delay of the essential spectrum of the TT rank-2 tensor Lichnerowickz Laplacian on asymptotically hyperbolic spaces.

The Markov gap for geometric reflected entropy

The reflected entropy SR(A : B) of a density matrix ρAB is a bipartite correlation measure lower-bounded by the quantum mutual information I(A : B). In holographic states satisfying the quantum extremal surface formula, where the reflected entropy is related to the area of the entanglement wedge cross-section, there is often an order-N2 gap between SR and I. We provide an information-theoretic interpretation of this gap by observing that SR− I is related to the fidelity of a particular Markov recovery problem that is impossible in any state whose entanglement wedge cross-section has a nonempty boundary; for this reason, we call the quantity SR− I the Markov gap. We then prove that for time-symmetric states in pure AdS3 gravity, the Markov gap is universally lower bounded by log(2)ℓAdS/2GN times the number of endpoints of the cross-section. We provide evidence that this lower bound continues to hold in the presence of bulk matter, and comment on how it might generalize above three bulk dimensions. Finally, we explore the Markov recovery problem controlling SR− I using fixed area states. This analysis involves deriving a formula for the quantum fidelity — in fact, for all the sandwiched Rényi relative entropies — between fixed area states with one versus two fixed areas, which may be of independent interest. We discuss, throughout the paper, connections to the general theory of multipartite entanglement in holography.

Harmonic analysis of 2d CFT partition functions

We apply the theory of harmonic analysis on the fundamental domain of SL(2, ℤ) to partition functions of two-dimensional conformal field theories. We decompose the partition function of c free bosons on a Narain lattice into eigenfunctions of the Laplacian of worldsheet moduli space ℍ/SL(2, ℤ), and of target space moduli space O(c, c; ℤ)\\O(c, c; ℝ)/O(c)×O(c). This decomposition manifests certain properties of Narain theories and ensemble averages thereof. We extend the application of spectral theory to partition functions of general two-dimensional conformal field theories, and explore its meaning in connection to AdS3 gravity. An implication of harmonic analysis is that the local operator spectrum is fully determined by a certain subset of degeneracies.

Universal renormalization procedure for higher curvature gravities in D \u2264 5

We implement a universal method for renormalizing AdS gravity actions applicable to arbitrary higher curvature theories in up to five dimensions. The renormalization procedure considers the extrinsic counterterm for Einstein-AdS gravity given by the Kounterterms scheme, but with a theory-dependent coupling constant that is fixed by the requirement of renormalization for the vacuum solution. This method is shown to work for a generic higher curvature gravity with arbitrary couplings except for a zero measure subset, which includes well-known examples where the asymptotic behavior is modified and the AdS vacua are degenerate, such as Chern-Simons gravity in 5D, Conformal Gravity in 4D and New Massive Gravity in 3D. In order to show the universality of the scheme, we perform a decomposition of the equations of motion into their normal and tangential components with respect to the Poincare coordinate and study the Fefferman-Graham expansion of the metric. We verify the cancellation of divergences of the on-shell action and the well-posedness of the variational principle.

AdS3 gravity and RCFT ensembles with multiple invariants

We use the Poincaré series method to compute gravity partition functions associated to SU(N)1 WZW models with arbitrarily large numbers of modular invariants. The result is an average over these invariants, with the weights being given by inverting a matrix whose size is of order the number of invariants. For the chosen models, this matrix takes a special form that allows us to invert it for arbitrary size and thereby explicitly calculate the weights of this average. For the identity seed we find that the weights are positive for all N, consistent with each model being dual to an ensemble average over CFT’s.

Random statistics of OPE coefficients and Euclidean wormholes

We propose an ansatz for OPE coefficients in chaotic conformal field theories which generalizes the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis and describes any OPE coefficient involving heavy operators as a random variable with a Gaussian distribution. In two dimensions this ansatz enables us to compute higher moments of the OPE coefficients and analyse two and four-point functions of OPE coefficients, which we relate to genus-2 partition functions and their squares. We compare the results of our ansatz to solutions of Einstein gravity in AdS3, including a Euclidean wormhole that connects two genus-2 surfaces. Our ansatz reproduces the non-perturbative correction of the wormhole, giving it a physical interpretation in terms of OPE statistics. We propose that calculations performed within the semi-classical low-energy gravitational theory are only sensitive to the random nature of OPE coefficients, which explains the apparent lack of factorization in products of partition functions.

Spectrum of end of the world branes in holographic BCFTs

We study overlaps between two regularized boundary states in conformal field theories. Regularized boundary states are dual to end of the world branes in an AdS black hole via the AdS/BCFT. Thus they can be regarded as microstates of a single sided black hole. Owing to the open-closed duality, such an overlap between two different regularized boundary states is exponentially suppressed as leftlangle left.{psi}_aright|{psi}_brightrangle sim {e}^{-Oleft({h}_{ab}^{left(min right)}right)} , where {h}_{ab}^{left(min right)} is the lowest energy of open strings which connect two different boundaries a and b. Our gravity dual analysis leads to {h}_{ab}^{left(min right)} = c/24 for a pure AdS3 gravity. This shows that a holographic boundary state is a random vector among all left-right symmetric states, whose number is given by a square root of the number of all black hole microstates. We also perform a similar computation in higher dimensions, and find that {h}_{ab}^{left(min right)} depends on the tensions of the branes. In our analysis of holographic boundary states, the off diagonal elements of the inner products can be computed directly from on-shell gravity actions, as opposed to earlier calculations of inner products of microstates in two dimensional gravity.

AdS3 gravity and the complex SYK models

We provide a non-conformal generalization of the Compère-Song-Strominger (CSS) boundary conditions for AdS3 gravity that breaks the hat{u}(1) Kac-Moody-Virasoro symmetry to two u(1)s. The holographic dual specified by the new boundary conditions can be understood as an irrelevant deformation of a warped conformal field theory (WCFT). Upon consistent reduction to two dimensions, AdS3 gravity results in a deformed Jackiw-Teitelboim dilaton gravity model coupled to a Maxwell field. We show that near extremality the boundary conditions inherited from generalized CSS boundary conditions in three dimensions give rise to an effective action exhibiting the same symmetry breaking pattern as the complex Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev models. Besides the Schwarzian term reflecting the breaking of conformal symmetry, the effective action contains an additional term that captures the breaking of the hat{u}(1) Kac-Moody symmetry.

The large-c Virasoro identity block is a semi-classical Liouville correlator

It will be shown analytically that the light sector of the identity block of a mixed heavy-light correlator in the large central charge limit is given by a correlation function of light operators on an effective background geometry. This geometry is generated by the presence of the heavy operators. It is shown that this background geometry is a solution to the Liouville equation of motion sourced by corresponding heavy vertex operators and subsequently that the light sector of the identity block matches the Liouville correlation function in the semi-classical limit. This method effectively captures the spirit of Einstein gravity as a theory of dynamical geometry in AdS/CFT. The reason being that Liouville theory is closely related to semi-classical asymptotically AdS3 gravity.

Discreteness and integrality in Conformal Field Theory

Various observables in compact CFTs are required to obey positivity, discreteness, and integrality. Positivity forms the crux of the conformal bootstrap, but understanding of the abstract implications of discreteness and integrality for the space of CFTs is lacking. We systematically study these constraints in two-dimensional, non-holomorphic CFTs, making use of two main mathematical results. First, we prove a theorem constraining the behavior near the cusp of integral, vector-valued modular functions. Second, we explicitly construct non-factorizable, non-holomorphic cuspidal functions satisfying discreteness and integrality, and prove the non-existence of such functions once positivity is added. Application of these results yields several bootstrap-type bounds on OPE data of both rational and irrational CFTs, including some powerful bounds for theories with conformal manifolds, as well as insights into questions of spectral determinacy. We prove that in rational CFT, the spectrum of operator twists tge frac{c}{12} is uniquely determined by its complement. Likewise, we argue that in generic CFTs, the spectrum of operator dimensions Delta >frac{c-1}{12} is uniquely determined by its complement, absent fine-tuning in a sense we articulate. Finally, we discuss implications for black hole physics and the (non-)uniqueness of a possible ensemble interpretation of AdS3 gravity.

General solutions in Chern-Simons gravity and Toverline{T} -deformations

We find the most general solution to Chern-Simons AdS3 gravity in Fefferman-Graham gauge. The connections are equivalent to geometries that have a non-trivial curved boundary, characterized by a 2-dimensional vielbein and a spin connection. We define a variational principle for Dirichlet boundary conditions and find the boundary stress tensor in the Chern-Simons formalism. Using this variational principle as the departure point, we show how to treat other choices of boundary conditions in this formalism, such as, including the mixed boundary conditions corresponding to a Toverline{T} -deformation.

Holographic s-wave superconductors with conformal anomaly correction

We build a holographic s-wave conductor/superconductor model and an insulator/superconductor model in the four-dimensional conformal anomaly corrected (CAC) AdS gravity. The effects of CAC parameter $$\alpha $$ are studied using both numerical and analytical methods in the probe approximation. Concretely, when the CAC parameter increases, the critical temperature increases for the conductor/superconductor phase transition, while the critical chemical potential decreases for the insulator/superconductor case, which suggests that the increasing CAC parameter enhances both superconducting phase transitions. Meanwhile, below the critical temperature or beyond the critical chemical potential, the scalar hair begins to condense, and the condensed phases are found to be thermodynamically stable. The critical behaviors obtained from numerics are confirmed by our analytical analysis. In addition, the energy gap in the conductor/superconductor model decreases monotonically with the increasing CAC parameter.

Pure gravity and conical defects

We revisit the spectrum of pure quantum gravity in AdS3. The computation of the torus partition function will — if computed using a gravitational path integral that includes only smooth saddle points — lead to a density of states which is not physically sensible, as it has a negative degeneracy of states for some energies and spins. We consider a minimal cure for this non-unitarity of the pure gravity partition function, which involves the inclusion of additional states below the black hole threshold. We propose a geometric interpretation for these extra states: they are conical defects with deficit angle 2π(1 − 1/N), where N is a positive integer. That only integer values of N should be included can be seen from a modular bootstrap argument, and leads us to propose a modest extension of the set of saddle-point configurations that contribute to the gravitational path integral: one should sum over orbifolds in addition to smooth manifolds. These orbifold states are below the black hole threshold and are regarded as massive particles in AdS, but they are not perturbative states: they are too heavy to form multi-particle bound states. We compute the one-loop determinant for gravitons in these orbifold backgrounds, which confirms that the orbifold states are Virasoro primaries. We compute the gravitational partition function including the sum over these orbifolds and find a finite, modular invariant result; this finiteness involves a delicate cancellation between the infinite tower of orbifold states and an infinite number of instantons associated with PSL(2, ℤ) images.

Three dimensional pure gravity and generalized Hecke operators

In this paper, we study mathematical functions of relevance to pure gravity in AdS3. Modular covariance places stringent constraints on the space of such functions; modular invariance places even stronger constraints on how they may be combined into physically viable candidate partition functions. We explicitly detail the list of holomorphic and anti-holomorphic functions that serve as candidates for chiral and anti-chiral partition functions and note that modular covariance is only consistent with such functions when the left (resp. right) central charge is an integer multiple of 8, c ∈ 8ℕ. We then find related constraints on the symmetry group of the corresponding topological, Chern-Simons, theory in the bulk of AdS. The symmetry group of the theory can be one of two choices: either SO(2; 1) × SO(2; 1) or its three-fold diagonal cover. We introduce the generalized Hecke operators which map the modular covariant functions to the modular covariant functions. With these mathematical results, we obtain conjectural partition functions for extremal CFT2s, and the corresponding microcanonical entropies, when the chiral central charges are multiples of eight. Finally, we compute subleading corrections to the Beckenstein-Hawking entropy in the bulk gravitational theory with these conjectural partition functions.

Modular Hamiltonians in flat holography and (W)AdS/WCFT

We study several aspects of holographic entanglement in two models known as flat3/BMSFT and (W)AdS3/WCFT. These are two examples of holography beyond AdS/CFT where the boundary field theories are not Lorentz invariant but still feature an infinite set of local symmetries. In the first example, BMS-invariant field theories (BMSFTs) are conjectured to provide a holographic description of quantum gravity in asymptotically flat three-dimensional spacetimes; while in the second example, warped conformal field theories (WCFTs) are proposed to describe quantum gravity in warped AdS3 or AdS3 backgrounds with Dirichlet-Neumann boundary conditions. In particular, we derive the modular Hamiltonian for single intervals in both BMSFTs and WCFTs and find the holographic duals in the bulk using the covariant formulation of gravitational charges. We also extend the first law of entanglement entropy to these models of non-AdS holography and discuss the bound on “modular chaos” introduced recently in the context of the AdS/CFT correspondence.

Gravitational anomalies in nAdS2/nCFT1

We revisit the holographic description of the near horizon geometry of the BTZ black hole in AdS3 gravity, with a gravitational Chern–Simons term included. After a dimensional reduction of the three dimensional theory, we use the framework of nAdS2/nCFT1 to describe the near horizon physics. This setup allows us to contrast the role of the gravitational and conformal anomaly inherited from AdS3/CFT2 in the symmetry breaking mechanism of nAdS2/nCFT1. Our results display how boundary conditions in the 3D spacetime, combined with the gravitational anomaly, affect the holographic description of the near horizon of the black hole relative to the physics near the AdS3 boundary.

Asymptotic boundary conditions and square integrability in the partition function of AdS gravity

There has been renewed interest in the path-integral computation of the partition function of AdS3 gravity, both in the metric and Chern-Simons formulations. The one-loop partition function around Euclidean AdS3 turns out to be given by the vacuum character of Virasoro group. This stems from the work of Brown and Henneaux (BH) who showed that, in AdS3 gravity with sensible asymptotic boundary conditions, an infinite group of (improper) diffeomorphisms arises which acts canonically on phase space as two independent Virasoro symmetries. The gauge group turns out to be composed of so-called “proper” diffeomorphisms which approach the identity at infinity fast enough. However, it is sometimes far from evident to identify where BH boundary conditions enter in the path integral, and much more difficult to see how the improper diffeomorphisms are left out of the gauge group. In particular, in the metric formulation, Giombi, Maloney and Yin obtained the one-loop partition function around thermal AdS3 resorting to the heat kernel method to compute the determinants coming from the path integral. Here we identify how BH boundary conditions follow naturally from the usual requirement of square-integrability of the metric perturbations. Also, and equally relevant, we clarify how the quotient by only proper diffeomorphisms is implemented, promoting the improper diffeomorphisms to symmetries in the path integral. Our strategy is general enough to apply to other approaches where square integrability is assumed. Finally, we show that square integrability implies that the asymptotic symmetries in higher dimensional AdS gravity are just isometries.

Quantum corrections to finite radius holography and holographic entanglement entropy

We calculate quantum corrections to holographic entanglement entropy in the proposed duality between Toverline{T} -deformed holographic 2D CFTs and gravity in AdS3 with a finite cutoff. We first establish the dictionary between the two theories by mapping the flow equation of the deformed CFT to the bulk Wheeler-DeWitt equation. The latter reduces to an ordinary differential equation for the sphere partition function, which we solve to find the entanglement entropy for an entangling surface consisting of two antipodal points on a sphere. The entanglement entropy in the inverse central charge expansion yields the expectation value of the bulk length operator plus the entropy of length fluctuations, in accordance with the Ryu-Takayanagi formula and its generalization due to Faulkner, Lewkowycz, and Maldacena. Special attention is paid to the conformal mode problem and its resolution by a choice of contour for the gravitational path integral.