Conformal Boundary Conditions Research Articles

Bootstrapping boundary-localized interactions II. Minimal models at the boundary

We provide evidence for the existence of non-trivial unitary conformal boundary conditions for a three-dimensional free scalar field, which can be obtained via a coupling to the m’th unitary diagonal minimal model. For large m we can demonstrate the existence of the fixed point perturbatively, and for smaller values we use the numerical conformal bootstrap to obtain a sharp kink that smoothly matches onto the perturbative predictions. The wider numerical analysis also yields universal bounds for the spectrum of any other boundary condition for the free scalar field. A second kink in these bounds hints at a second class of non-standard boundary conditions, as yet unidentified.

Conformal boundary condition and massive gravitons in AdS/BCFT

According to Witten [1], the conformal boundary condition of gravity, which specifies the conformal geometry of the boundary and the trace of the extrinsic curvature, is elliptic and leads to well-defined perturbation theory of gravity about any classical solution. The conformal boundary condition was previously considered in [2, 3] in the context of AdS/BCFT, wherein the equation of motion of the end-of-the-world was derived and emphasized. In this paper, we investigate further other consequences of the conformal boundary condition in AdS/BCFT. We derive the boundary central charges of the holographic Weyl anomaly and show that they are exactly the same for conformal boundary condition and Dirichlet boundary condition. We analysis the metric perturbation with conformal boundary condition (CBC), Dirichlet boundary condition (DBC) and Neumann boundary condition (NBC) imposed on the end-of-the-world brane and show that they admit an interpretation as the fluctuation of the extrinsic curvature (case of CBC and DBC) and the induced metric (case of NBC) of Q respectively. In all cases, the fluctuation modes are massive, which are closely relevant to the massive island formation in the literature. Our results reveal that there are non-trivial gravitational dynamics from extrinsic curvatures on the conformal and Dirichlet branes, which may have interesting applications to the island. We also discuss, in passing, the localization of gravitons in brane world theory. We find that, contrary to NBC, the graviton for CBC/DBC is located on the brane with non-positive tension instead of non-negative tension.

Conformal boundary conditions from cutoff AdS3

We construct a particular flow in the space of 2D Euclidean QFTs on a torus, which we argue is dual to a class of solutions in 3D Euclidean gravity with conformal boundary conditions. This new flow comes from a Legendre transform of the kernel which implements the T overline{T} deformation, and is motivated by the need for boundary conditions in Euclidean gravity to be elliptic, i.e. that they have well-defined propagators for metric fluctuations. We demonstrate equivalence between our flow equation and variants of the Wheeler de-Witt equation for a torus universe in the so-called Constant Mean Curvature (CMC) slicing. We derive a kernel for the flow, and we compute the corresponding ground state energy in the low-temperature limit. Once deformation parameters are fixed, the existence of the ground state is independent of the initial data, provided the seed theory is a CFT. The high-temperature density of states has Cardy-like behavior, rather than the Hagedorn growth characteristic of T overline{T} -deformed theories.

Hamiltonian truncation in Anti-de Sitter spacetime

Quantum Field Theories (QFTs) in Anti-de Sitter (AdS) spacetime are often strongly coupled when the radius of AdS is large, and few methods are available to study them. In this work, we develop a Hamiltonian truncation method to compute the energy spectrum of QFTs in two-dimensional AdS. The infinite volume of constant timeslices of AdS leads to divergences in the energy levels. We propose a simple prescription to obtain finite physical energies and test it with numerical diagonalization in several models: the free massive scalar field, ϕ4 theory, Lee-Yang and Ising field theory. Along the way, we discuss spontaneous symmetry breaking in AdS and derive a compact formula for perturbation theory in quantum mechanics at arbitrary order. Our results suggest that all conformal boundary conditions for a given theory are connected via bulk renormalization group flows in AdS.

Properties of RG interfaces for 2D boundary flows

We consider RG interfaces for boundary RG flows in two-dimensional QFTs. Such interfaces are particular boundary condition changing operators linking the UV and IR conformal boundary conditions. We refer to them as RG operators. In this paper we study their general properties putting forward a number of conjectures. We conjecture that an RG operator is always a conformal primary such that the OPE of this operator with its conjugate must contain the perturbing UV operator when taken in one order and the leading irrelevant operator (when it exists) along which the flow enters the IR fixed point, when taken in the other order. We support our conjectures by perturbative calculations for flows between nearby fixed points, by a non-perturbative variational method inspired by the variational method proposed by J. Cardy for massive RG flows, and by numerical results obtained using boundary TCSA. The variational method has a merit of its own as it can be used as a first approximation in charting the global structure of the space of boundary RG flows. We also discuss the role of the RG operators in the transport of states and local operators. Some of our considerations can be generalised to two-dimensional bulk flows, clarifying some conceptual issues related to the RG interface put forward by D. Gaiotto for bulk \U0001d7191,3 flows.

Boundary conformal invariants and the conformal anomaly in five dimensions

In odd dimensions the integrated conformal anomaly is entirely due to the boundary terms [1]. In this paper we present a detailed analysis of the anomaly in five dimensions. We give the complete list of the boundary conformal invariants that exist in five dimensions. Additionally to 8 invariants known before we find a new conformal invariant that contains the derivatives of the extrinsic curvature along the boundary. Then, for a conformal scalar field satisfying either the Dirichlet or the conformal invariant Robin boundary conditions we use the available general results for the heat kernel coefficient a5, compute the conformal anomaly and identify the corresponding values of all boundary conformal charges.

Boundary CFT and Tensor Network Approach to Surface Critical Phenomena of the Tricritical 3-State Potts model

One-dimensional edges of classical systems in two dimension sometimes show surprisingly rich phase transitions and critical phenomena, particularly when the bulk is at criticality. As such a model, we study the surface critical behavior of the 3-state dilute Potts model whose bulk is tuned at the tricritical point. To investigate it more precisely than in the previous works [Y. Deng and H. W. J. Bl\"ote, Phys. Rev. E 70, 035107(R) (2004); Phys. Rev. E 71, 026109 (2005)], we analyze it from the viewpoint of the boundary conformal field theory (BCFT). The complete classification of the conformal boundary conditions for the minimal BCFTs discussed in [R. E. Behrend et al., Nucl. Phys. B 579, 707 (2000)] allows us to collect the twelve boundary fixed points in the tricritical 3-state Potts BCFT. Employing the tensor network renormalization method, we numerically study the surface phase diagram of the tricritical 3-state Potts model in detail, and reveal that the eleven boundary fixed points among the twelve can be realized on the lattice by controlling the external field and coupling strength at the boundary. The last unfound fixed point would be out of the physically sound region in the parameter space, similarly to the `new' boundary condition in the 3-state Potts BCFT.

Conformal defects from string field theory

Unlike conformal boundary conditions, conformal defects of Virasoro minimal models lack classification. Alternatively to the defect perturbation theory and the truncated conformal space approach, we employ open string field theory (OSFT) techniques to explore the space of conformal defects. We illustrate the method by an analysis of OSFT around the background associated to the (1, 2) topological defect in diagonal unitary minimal models. Numerical analysis of OSFT equations of motion leads to an identification of a nice family of solutions, recovering the picture of infrared fixed points due to Kormos, Runkel and Watts. In particular, we find a continuum of solutions in the Ising model case and 6 solutions for other minimal models. OSFT provides us with numerical estimates of the g-function and other coefficients of the boundary state.

Bootstrapping boundary-localized interactions

We study conformal boundary conditions for the theory of a single real scalar to investigate whether the known Dirichlet and Neumann conditions are the only possibilities. For this free bulk theory there are strong restrictions on the possible boundary dynamics. In particular, we find that the bulk-to-boundary operator expansion of the bulk field involves at most a ‘shadow pair’ of boundary fields, irrespective of the conformal boundary condition. We numerically analyze the four-point crossing equations for this shadow pair in the case of a three-dimensional boundary (so a four-dimensional scalar field) and find that large ranges of parameter space are excluded. However a ‘kink’ in the numerical bounds obeys all our consistency checks and might be an indication of a new conformal boundary condition.

Open topological defects and boundary RG flows

In the context of two-dimensional rational conformal field theories we consider topological junctions of topological defect lines with boundary conditions. We refer to such junctions as open topological defects. For a relevant boundary operator on a conformal boundary condition we consider a commutation relation with an open defect obtained by passing the junction point through the boundary operator. We show that when there is an open defect that commutes or anti-commutes with the boundary operator there are interesting implications for the boundary RG flows triggered by this operator. The end points of the flow must satisfy certain constraints which, in essence, require the end points to admit junctions with the same open defects. Furthermore, the open defects in the infrared must generate a subring under fusion that is isomorphic to the analogous subring of the original boundary condition. We illustrate these constraints by a number of explicit examples in Virasoro minimal models.

Deformed Heisenberg charges in three-dimensional gravity

We consider the bulk plus boundary phase space for three-dimensional gravity with negative cosmological constant for a particular choice of conformal boundary conditions: the conformal class of the induced metric at the boundary is kept fixed and the mean extrinsic curvature is constrained to be one. Such specific conformal boundary conditions define so-called Bryant surfaces, which can be classified completely in terms of holomorphic maps from Riemann surfaces into the spinor bundle. To study the observables and gauge symmetries of the resulting bulk plus boundary system, we will introduce an extended phase space, where these holomorphic maps are now part of the gravitational bulk plus boundary phase space. The physical phase space is obtained by introducing two sets of Kac-Moody currents, which are constrained to vanish. The constraints are second-class and the corresponding Dirac bracket yields an infinite-dimensional deformation of the Heisenberg algebra for the spinor-valued surface charges. Finally, we compute the Poisson algebra among the generators of conformal diffeomorphisms and demonstrate that there is no central charge. Although the central charge vanishes and the boundary CFT is likely non-unitary, we will argue that a version of the Cardy formula still applies in this context, such that the entropy of the BTZ black hole can be derived from the degeneracy of the eigenstates of quasi-local energy.

Conformally invariant boundary conditions in the antiferromagnetic Potts model and the SL(2, \u211d)/U(1) sigma model

We initiate a study of the boundary version of the square-lattice Q-state Potts antiferromagnet, with Q ∈ [0, 4] real, motivated by the fact that the continuum limit of the corresponding bulk model is a non-compact CFT, closely related with the SL(2, ℝ)k/U(1) Euclidian black-hole coset model. While various types of conformal boundary conditions (discrete and continuous branes) have been formally identified for the the SL(2, ℝ)k/U(1) coset CFT, we are only able in this work to identify conformal boundary conditions (CBC) leading to a discrete boundary spectrum. The CBC we find are of two types. The first is free boundary Potts spins, for which we confirm an old conjecture for the generating functions of conformal levels, and show them to be related to characters in a non-linear deformation of the W∞ algebra. The second type of CBC — which corresponds to restricting the values of the Potts spins to a subset of size Q1, or its complement of size Q − Q1, at alternating sites along the boundary — is new, and turns out to be conformal in the antiferromagnetic case only. In the following, we refer to these new boundary conditions as “alt” boundary conditions. Using algebraic and numerical techniques, we show that the corresponding spectrum generating functions produce all the characters of discrete representations for the coset CFT. The normalizability bounds of the associated discrete states in the coset CFT are found to have a simple interpretation in terms of boundary phase transitions in the lattice model. In the two-boundary case, with two distinct alt conditions, we obtain similar results, at least in the case when the corresponding boundary condition changing operator also inserts a number of defect lines. For sqrt{Q} = 2 cos frac{pi }{k} , with k ≥ 3 integer, we show also how our boundary conditions can be reformulated in terms of a RSOS height model. The spectrum generating functions are then identified with string functions of the compact SU(2)k−2/U(1) parafermion theory (with symmetry Zk−2). The new alt conditions are needed to cover all the string functions. We provide an algebraic proof that the two-boundary alt conditions correctly produce the fusion rules of string functions. We expose in detail the special case of Q = 3 and its link with three-colourings of the square lattice and a corresponding boundary six-vertex model. Finally, we discuss the case of an odd number of sites (in the loop model) and the relation with wired boundary conditions (in the spin model). In this case the RSOS restriction produces the disorder operators of the parafermion theory.

A study of quantum field theories in AdS at finite coupling

We study the O(N) and Gross-Neveu models at large N on AdSd+1 background. Thanks to the isometries of AdS, the observables in these theories are constrained by the SO(d, 2) conformal group even in the presence of mass deformations, as was discussed by Callan and Wilczek [1], and provide an interesting two-parameter family of quantities which interpolate between the S-matrices in flat space and the correlators in CFT with a boundary. For the actual computation, we judiciously use the spectral representation to resum loop diagrams in the bulk. After the resummation, the AdS 4-particle scattering amplitude is given in terms of a single unknown function of the spectral parameter. We then “bootstrap” the unknown function by requiring the absence of double-trace operators in the boundary OPE. Our results are at leading nontrivial order in frac{1}{N} , and include the full dependence on the quartic coupling, the mass parameters, and the AdS radius. In the bosonic O(N) model we study both the massive phase and the symmetry-breaking phase, which exists even in AdS2 evading Coleman’s theorem, and identify the AdS analogue of a resonance in flat space. We then propose that symmetry breaking in AdS implies the existence of a conformal manifold in the boundary conformal theory. We also provide evidence for the existence of a critical point with bulk conformal symmetry, matching existing results and finding new ones for the conformal boundary conditions of the critical theories. For the Gross-Neveu model we find a bound state, which interpolates between the familiar bound state in flat space and the displacement operator at the critical point.

Mixed global anomalies and boundary conformal field theories

We consider the relation between mixed global gauge gravitational anomalies and boundary conformal field theory in WZW models for simple Lie groups. The discrete symmetries of consideration are the centers of the simple Lie groups. These mixed anomalies prevent gauging them i.e, taking the orbifold by the center. The absence of anomalies impose conditions on the levels of WZW models. Next, we study the conformal boundary conditions for the original theories. We consider the existence of a conformal boundary state invariant under the action of the center. This also gives conditions on the levels of WZW models. By considering the combined action of the center and charge conjugation on boundary states, we reproduce the condition obtained in the orbifold analysis.

Mapping Topological to Conformal Field Theories through strange Correlators.

We extend the concept of strange correlators, defined for symmetry-protected phases in You etal. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 247202 (2014)PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.112.247202], to topological phases of matter by taking the inner product between string-net ground states and product states. The resulting two-dimensional partition functions are shown to be either critical or symmetry broken, since the corresponding transfer matrices inherit all matrix product operator symmetries of the string-net states. For the case of critical systems, these nonlocal matrix product operator symmetries are the lattice remnants of topological conformal defects in the field theory description. Following Aasen etal. [J. Phys. A 49, 354001 (2016)JPAMB51751-811310.1088/1751-8113/49/35/354001], we argue that the different conformal boundary conditions can be obtained by applying the strange correlator concept to the different topological sectors of the string net obtained from Ocneanu's tube algebra. This is demonstrated on the lattice by calculating the conformal field theory spectra in the different topological sectors for the Fibonacci (hard-hexagon) and Ising string net. Additionally, we provide a complementary perspective on symmetry-preserving real-space renormalization by showing how known tensor network renormalization methods can be understood as the approximate truncation of an exactly coarse-grained strange correlator.

Conformal boundary conditions, loop gravity and the continuum

In this paper, we will make an attempt to clarify the relation between three-dimensional euclidean loop quantum gravity with vanishing cosmological constant and quantum field theory in the continuum. We will argue, in particular, that in three spacetime dimensions the discrete spectra for the geometric boundary observables that we find in loop quantum gravity can be understood from the quantisation of a conformal boundary field theory in the continuum without ever introducing spin networks or triangulations of space. At a technical level, the starting point is the Hamiltonian formalism for general relativity in regions with boundaries at finite distance. At these finite boundaries, we choose specific conformal boundary conditions (the boundary is a minimal surface) that are derived from a boundary field theory for an SU(2) boundary spinor, which is minimally coupled to the spin connection in the bulk. The resulting boundary equations of motion define a conformal field theory with vanishing central charge. We will quantise this boundary field theory and show that the length of a one-dimensional cross section of the boundary has a discrete spectrum. In addition, we will introduce a new class of coherent states, study the quasi-local observables that generate the quasi-local Virasoro algebra and discuss some strategies to evaluate the partition function of the theory.

RG boundaries and interfaces in Ising field theory**To the memory of O I Zavialov.

Perturbing a CFT by a relevant operator on a half space and letting the perturbation flow to the far infrared we obtain an RG interface between the UV and IR CFTs. If the IR CFT is trivial we obtain an RG boundary condition. The space of massive perturbations thus breaks up into regions labelled by conformal boundary conditions of the UV fixed point. For the 2D critical Ising model perturbed by a generic relevant operator we find the assignment of RG boundary conditions to all flows. We use some analytic results but mostly rely on TCSA and TFFSA numerical techniques. We investigate real as well as imaginary values of the magnetic field and, in particular, the RG trajectory that ends at the Yang–Lee CFT. We argue that the RG interface in the latter case does not approach a single conformal interface but rather exhibits oscillatory non-convergent behaviour.

Logarithmic minimal models with Robin boundary conditions

We consider general logarithmic minimal models , with coprime, on a strip of N columns with the (r, s) Robin boundary conditions introduced by Pearce, Rasmussen and Tipunin. On the lattice, these models are Yang–Baxter integrable loop models that are described algebraically by the one-boundary Temperley–Lieb algebra. The (r, s) Robin boundary conditions are a class of integrable boundary conditions satisfying the boundary Yang–Baxter equations which allow loop segments to either reflect or terminate on the boundary. The associated conformal boundary conditions are organized into infinitely extended Kac tables labelled by the Kac labels and . The Robin vacuum boundary condition, labelled by , is given as a linear combination of Neumann and Dirichlet boundary conditions. The general (r, s) Robin boundary conditions are constructed, using fusion, by acting on the Robin vacuum boundary with an (r, s)-type seam consisting of an r-type seam of width w columns and an s-type seam of width d = s − 1 columns. The r-type seam admits an arbitrary boundary field which we fix to the special value where is the crossing parameter. The s-type boundary introduces d defects into the bulk. We consider the commuting double-row transfer matrices and their associated quantum Hamiltonians and calculate analytically the boundary free energies of the (r, s) Robin boundary conditions. Using finite-size corrections and sequence extrapolation out to system sizes , the conformal spectrum of boundary operators is accessible by numerical diagonalization of the Hamiltonians. Fixing the parity of N for and restricting to the ground state sequences , with the inverse , we find that the conformal weights take the values where is given by the usual Kac formula. The (r, s) Robin boundary conditions are thus conjugate to scaling operators with half-integer values for the Kac label . Level degeneracies support the conjecture that the characters of the associated (reducible or irreducible) representations are given by Virasoro Verma characters.

Fusion of conformal interfaces and bulk induced boundary RG flows

We consider the basic radius changing conformal interface for a free compact boson. After investigating different theoretical aspects of this object we focus on the fusion of this interface with conformal boundary conditions. At fractions of the self-dual radius there exist exceptional D-branes. It was argued in [1] that changing the radius in the bulk induces a boundary RG flow. Following [2] we conjecture that fusing the basic radius changing interface (that changes the radius from a fraction of the self-dual radius) with the exceptional boundary conditions gives the boundary condition which is the end point of the RG flow considered in [1]. By studying the fusion singularities we recover RG logarithms and see, in particular instances, how they get resummed into power singularities. We discuss what quantities need to be calculated to gain full non-perturbative control over the fusion.

Kac boundary conditions of the logarithmic minimal models**This paper is dedicated to Jean-Bernard Zuber on the occassion of his retirement.

We develop further the implementation and analysis of Kac boundary conditions in the general logarithmic minimal models with 1 ⩽ p < p′ and p, p′ coprime. Specifically, working in a strip geometry, we consider the (r, s) Kac boundary conditions. These boundary conditions are organized into infinitely extended Kac tables labeled by the Kac labels r, s = 1, 2, 3, …. They are conjugate to Virasoro Kac representations with conformal dimensions Δr, s given by the usual Kac formula. On a finite strip of width N, built from a square lattice, the associated integrable boundary conditions are constructed by acting on the vacuum (1, 1) boundary with an s-type seam of width s − 1 columns and an r-type seam of width ρ − 1 columns. The r-type seam contains an arbitrary boundary field ξ. While the usual fusion construction of the r-type seam relies on the existence of Wenzl–Jones projectors restricting its application to r ⩽ ρ < p′, this limitation was recently removed by Pearce et al who further conjectured that the conformal boundary conditions labeled by r are realized, in particular, for . In this paper, we confirm this conjecture by performing extensive numerics on the commuting double row transfer matrices and their associated quantum Hamiltonian chains. Letting [x] denote the fractional part, we fix the boundary field to the specialized values if and otherwise. For these boundary conditions, we obtain the Kac conformal weights Δr, s by numerically extrapolating the finite-size corrections to the lowest eigenvalue of the quantum Hamiltonians out to sizes N ⩽ 32 − ρ − s. Additionally, by solving local inversion relations, we obtain general analytic expressions for the boundary free energies allowing for more accurate estimates of the conformal data.