Conformal Perturbation Research Articles

Aspects of Berry phase in QFT

When continuous parameters in a QFT are varied adiabatically, quantum states typically undergo mixing — a phenomenon characterized by the Berry phase. We initiate a systematic analysis of the Berry phase in QFT using standard quantum mechanics methods. We show that a non-trivial Berry phase appears in many familiar QFTs. We study a variety of examples including free electromagnetism with a theta angle, and certain supersymmetric QFTs in two and four spacetime dimensions. We also argue that a large class of QFTs with rich Berry properties is provided by CFTs with non-trivial conformal manifolds. Using the operator-state correspondence we demonstrate in this case that the Berry connection is equivalent to the connection on the conformal manifold derived previously in conformal perturbation theory. In the special case of chiral primary states in 2d mathcal{N}=left(2,2right) and 4d mathcal{N}=2 SCFTs the Berry phase is governed by the tt* equations. We present a technically useful rederivation of these equations using quantum mechanics methods.

Scattering theory of the Hodge–Laplacian under a conformal perturbation

Let g and \tilde{g} be Riemannian metrics on a noncompact manifold M , which are conformally equivalent. We show that under a very mild first order control on the conformal factor, the wave operators corresponding to the Hodge–Laplacians \Delta_g and \Delta_{\tilde{g}} acting on differential forms exist and are complete. We apply this result to Riemannian manifolds with bounded geometry and more specically, to warped product Riemannian manifolds with bounded geometry. Finally, we combine our results with some explicit calculations by Antoci to determine the absolutely continuous spectrum of the Hodge–Laplacian on j -forms for a large class of warped product metrics.

The random-bond Ising model in 2.01 and 3 dimensions

We consider the Ising model between 2 and 4 dimensions perturbed by quenched disorder in the strength of the interaction between nearby spins. In the interval 2 < d < 4 this disorder is a relevant perturbation that drives the system to a new fixed point of the renormalization group. At d = 2 such disorder is marginally irrelevant and can be studied using conformal perturbation theory. Combining conformal perturbation theory with recent results from the conformal bootstrap we compute some scaling exponents in an expansion around d = 2. If one trusts these computations also in d = 3, one finds results consistent with experimental data and Monte Carlo simulations. In addition, we perform a direct uncontrolled computation in d = 3 using new results for low-lying operator dimensions and OPE coefficients in the 3d Ising model. We compare these new methods with previous studies. Finally, we comment about the O(2) model in d = 3, where we predict a large logarithmic correction to the infrared scaling of disorder.

Marginal deformations of 3d supersymmetric U(N) model and broken higher spin symmetry

We examine the marginal deformations of double-trace type in 3d supersymmetric U(N) model with N complex free bosons and fermions. We compute the anomalous dimensions of higher spin currents to the 1/N order but to all orders in the deformation parameters by mainly applying the conformal perturbation theory. The 3d field theory is supposed to be dual to 4d supersymmetric Vasiliev theory, and the marginal deformations are argued to correspond to modifying boundary conditions for bulk scalars and fermions. Thus the modification should break higher spin gauge symmetry and generate the massesof higher spin fields. We provide supports for the dual interpretation by relating bulk computation in terms of Witten diagrams to boundary one in conformal perturbation theory.

Anomalous dimensions of higher spin currents in large N CFTs

We examine anomalous dimensions of higher spin currents in the critical O(N) scalar model and the Gross-Neveu model in arbitrary d dimensions. These two models are proposed to be dual to the type A and type B Vasiliev theories, respectively. We reproduce the known results on the anomalous dimensions to the leading order in 1/N by using conformal perturbation theory. This work can be regarded as an extension of previous work on the critical O(N) scalars in 3 dimensions, where it was shown that the bulk computation for the masses of higher spin fields on AdS4 can be mapped to the boundary one in conformal perturbation theory. The anomalous dimensions of the both theories agree with each other up to an overall factor depending only on d, and we discuss the coincidence for d = 3 by utilizing mathcal{N}=2 supersymmetry.

Holographic non-Gaussianities in general single-field inflation

We use holographic techniques to compute inflationary non-Gaussianities for general single-field inflation, including models with a non-trivial sound speed. In this holographic approach, the inflationary dynamics is captured by a relevant deformation of the dual conformal field theory (CFT) in the UV, while the inflationary correlators are computed by conformal perturbation theory. In this paper, we discuss the effects of higher derivative operators, such as $(\partial_\mu\phi\partial^\mu\phi)^{m}$, which are known to induce a non-trivial sound speed and source potentially large non-Gaussianities. We compute the full inflationary bispectra from the deformed CFT correlators. We also discuss the squeezed limit of the bispectra from the viewpoint of operator product expansions. As is generic in the holographic description of inflation, our power spectrum is blue tilted in the UV region. We extend our bispectrum computation to the IR region by resumming the conformal perturbations to all orders. We provide a self-consistent setup which reproduces a red tilted power spectrum, as well as all possible bispectrum shapes in the slow-roll regime.

Conformal Janus on Euclidean sphere

We interpret Janus as an interface in a conformal field theory and study its properties. The Janus is created by an exactly marginal operator and we study its effect on the interface conformal field theory on the Janus. We do this by utilizing the AdS/CFT correspondence. We compute the interface free energy both from leading correction to the Euclidean action in the dual gravity description and from conformal perturbation theory in the conformal field theory. We find that the two results agree each other and that the interface free energy scales precisely as expected from the conformal invariance of the Janus interface.

Vacuum energy of the Bukhvostov–Lipatov model

Bukhvostov and Lipatov have shown that weakly interacting instantons and anti-instantons in the O(3) non-linear sigma model in two dimensions are described by an exactly soluble model containing two coupled Dirac fermions. We propose an exact formula for the vacuum energy of the model for twisted boundary conditions, expressing it through a special solution of the classical sinh-Gordon equation. The formula perfectly matches predictions of the standard renormalized perturbation theory at weak couplings as well as the conformal perturbation theory at short distances. Our results also agree with the Bethe ansatz solution of the model. A complete proof the proposed expression for the vacuum energy based on a combination of the Bethe ansatz techniques and the classical inverse scattering transform method is presented in the second part of this work [42].

Conformal perturbation of off-critical correlators in the 3D Ising universality class

Thanks to the impressive progress of conformal bootstrap methods we have now very precise estimates of both scaling dimensions and OPE coefficients for several 3D universality classes. We show how to use this information to obtain similarly precise estimates for off-critical correlators using conformal perturbation. We discuss in particular the $< \sigma (r) \sigma (0) >$, $< \epsilon (r) \epsilon (0) >$ and $< \sigma (r) \epsilon (0) >$ two point functions in the high and low temperature regimes of the 3D Ising model and evaluate the leading and next to leading terms in the $s = t r^{\Delta_{t}}$ expansion, where $t$ is the reduced temperature. Our results for $< \sigma (r) \sigma (0) >$ agree both with Monte Carlo simulations and with a set of experimental estimates of the critical scattering function.

Masses of higher spin fields onAdS4and conformal perturbation theory

We study the breaking of gauge symmetry for higher spin theory on AdS_4 dual to the 3d critical O(N) vector model. It was argued that the breaking is due to the change of boundary condition for a scalar field through a loop effect and the Goldstone modes are bound states of a scalar field and higher spin field. The masses of higher spin fields were obtained from the anomalous dimensions of dual currents at the leading order in 1/N, and we reproduce them from the O(N) vector model in the conformal perturbation theory. The anomalous dimensions can be computed from the bulk theory using Witten diagrams, and we show that the bulk computation reduces to the boundary one in the conformal perturbation theory. With this fact our computation provides an additional support for the bulk interpretation.

Reflection and transmission of conformal perturbation defects

We consider reflection and transmission of interfaces which implement renormalisation group flows between conformal fixed points in two-dimensions. Such an RG interface is constructed from the identity defect in the ultraviolet CFT by perturbing the theory on one side of the defect line. We compute reflection and transmission coefficients in perturbation theory to third order in the coupling constant and check our calculations against exact constructions of RG interfaces between coset models.

Entanglement entropy of excited states in conformal perturbation theory and the Einstein equation

For a conformal field theory (CFT) deformed by a relevant operator, the entanglement entropy of a ball-shaped region may be computed as a perturbative expansion in the coupling. A similar perturbative expansion exists for excited states near the vacuum. Using these expansions, this work investigates the behavior of excited state entanglement entropies of small, ball-shaped regions. The motivation for these calculations is Jacobson's recent work on the equivalence of the Einstein equation and the hypothesis of maximal vacuum entropy [arXiv:1505.04753], which relies on a conjecture stating that the behavior of these entropies is sufficiently similar to a CFT. In addition to the expected type of terms which scale with the ball radius as $R^d$, the entanglement entropy calculation gives rise to terms scaling as $R^{2\Delta}$, where $\Delta$ is the dimension of the deforming operator. When $\Delta\leq\frac{d}{2}$, the latter terms dominate the former, and suggest that a modification to the conjecture is needed.

Operator product expansion coefficients of the 3D Ising model with a trapping potential

Recently the OPE coefficients of the 3D Ising model universality class have been calculated by studying the two-point functions perturbed from the critical point with a relevant field. We show that this method can be applied also when the perturbation is performed with a relevant field coupled to a non uniform potential acting as a trap. This setting is described by the trap size scaling ansatz, that can be combined with the general framework of the conformal perturbation in order to write down the correlators $<\sigma (\mathbf {r})\sigma(0)>$, $<\sigma (\mathbf{r})\epsilon(0)>$ and $<\epsilon (\mathbf {r})\epsilon(0)>$, from which the OPE coefficients can be estimated. We find $C^{\sigma}_{\sigma\epsilon}= 1.051(3)$ , in agreement with the results already known in the literature, and $C^{\epsilon}_{\epsilon\epsilon}= 1.32 (15)$ , confirming and improving the previous estimate obtained in the uniform perturbation case.

δN formalism from superpotential and holography

We consider the superpotential formalism to describe the evolution of D scalar fields during inflation, generalizing it to include the case with non-canonical kinetic terms. We provide a characterization of the attractor behaviour of the background evolution in terms of first and second slow-roll parameters (which need not be small). We find that the superpotential is useful in justifying the separate universe approximation from the gradient expansion, and also in computing the spectra of primordial perturbations around attractor solutions in the δN formalism. As an application, we consider a class of models where the background trajectories for the inflaton fields are derived from a product separable superpotential. In the perspective of the holographic inflation scenario, such models are dual to a deformed CFT boundary theory, with D mutually uncorrelated deformation operators. We compute the bulk power spectra of primordial adiabatic and entropy cosmological perturbations, and show that the results agree with the ones obtained by using conformal perturbation theory in the dual picture.

High-scale inflation and the tensor tilt

In this paper, we explore a novel observational signature of gravitational corrections during slow-roll inflation. We study the coupling of the inflaton field to higher-curvature tensors in models with a minimal breaking of conformal symmetry. In that case, the most general correction to the tensor two-point function is captured by a coupling to the square of the Weyl tensor. We show that these scenarios lead to a correction to the tilt of the tensor power spectrum and hence a violation of the tensor consistency condition. We arrive at the same conclusion through an analysis in conformal perturbation theory.

Generalized F-theorem and the ϵ expansion

Some known constraints on Renormalization Group flow take the form of inequalities: in even dimensions they refer to the coefficient $a$ of the Weyl anomaly, while in odd dimensions to the sphere free energy $F$. In recent work arXiv:1409.1937 it was suggested that the $a$- and $F$-theorems may be viewed as special cases of a Generalized $F$-Theorem valid in continuous dimension. This conjecture states that, for any RG flow from one conformal fixed point to another, $\tilde F_{\rm UV} > \tilde F_{\rm IR}$, where $\tilde F=\sin (\pi d/2)\log Z_{S^d}$. Here we provide additional evidence in favor of the Generalized $F$-Theorem. We show that it holds in conformal perturbation theory, i.e. for RG flows produced by weakly relevant operators. We also study a specific example of the Wilson-Fisher $O(N)$ model and define this CFT on the sphere $S^{4-\epsilon}$, paying careful attention to the beta functions for the coefficients of curvature terms. This allows us to develop the $\epsilon$ expansion of $\tilde F$ up to order $\epsilon^5$. Pade extrapolation of this series to $d=3$ gives results that are around $2-3\%$ below the free field values for small $N$. We also study RG flows which include an anisotropic perturbation breaking the $O(N)$ symmetry; we again find that the results are consistent with $\tilde F_{\rm UV} > \tilde F_{\rm IR}$.

Conformal invariant cosmological perturbations via the covariant approach

It is known that some cosmological perturbations are conformal invariant. This facilitates the studies of perturbations within some gravitational theories alternative to general relativity, for example the scalar-tensor theory, because it is possible to do equivalent analysis in a certain frame in which the perturbation equations are simpler. In this paper we revisit the problem of conformal invariances of cosmological perturbations in terms of the covariant approach in which the perturbation variables have clear geometric and physical meanings. We show that with this approach the conformal invariant perturbations are easily identified.

Higgsing the stringy higher spin symmetry

It has recently been argued that the symmetric orbifold theory of $$ {\mathbb{T}}^4 $$ is dual to string theory on AdS3 × S3 × $$ {\mathbb{T}}^4 $$ at the tensionless point. At this point in moduli space, the theory possesses a very large symmetry algebra that includes, in particular, a $$ \mathcal{W} $$ ∞ algebra capturing the gauge fields of a dual higher spin theory. Using conformal perturbation theory, we study the behaviour of the symmetry generators of the symmetric orbifold theory under the deformation that corresponds to switching on the string tension. We show that the generators fall nicely into Regge trajectories, with the higher spin fields corresponding to the leading Regge trajectory. We also estimate the form of the Regge trajectories for large spin, and find evidence for the familiar logarithmic behaviour, thereby suggesting that the symmetric orbifold theory is dual to an AdS background with pure RR flux.

Entanglement entropy and differential entropy for massive flavors

Abstract In this paper we compute the holographic entanglement entropy for massive flavors in the D3-D7 system, for arbitrary mass and various entangling region geometries. We show that the universal terms in the entanglement entropy exactly match those computed in the dual theory using conformal perturbation theory. We derive holographically the universal terms in the entanglement entropy for a CFT perturbed by a relevant operator, up to second order in the coupling; our results are valid for any entangling region geometry. We present a new method for computing the entanglement entropy of any top-down brane probe system using Kaluza-Klein holography and illustrate our results with massive flavors at finite density. Finally we discuss the differential entropy for brane probe systems, emphasising that the differential entropy captures only the effective lower-dimensional Einstein metric rather than the ten-dimensional geometry.

Numerical determination of the operator-product-expansion coefficients in the 3D Ising model from off-critical correlators

We propose a general method for the numerical evaluation of OPE coefficients in three dimensional Conformal Field Theories based on the study of the conformal perturbation of two point functions in the vicinity of the critical point. We test our proposal in the three dimensional Ising Model, looking at the magnetic perturbation of the $<\sigma (\mathbf {r})\sigma(0)>$, $<\sigma (\mathbf {r})\epsilon(0)>$ and $<\epsilon (\mathbf {r})\epsilon(0)>$ correlators from which we extract the values of $C^{\sigma}_{\sigma\epsilon}=1.07(3)$ and $C^{\epsilon}_{\epsilon\epsilon}=1.45(30)$. Our estimate for $C^{\sigma}_{\sigma\epsilon}$ agrees with those recently obtained using conformal bootstrap methods, while $C^{\epsilon}_{\epsilon\epsilon}$, as far as we know, is new and could be used to further constrain conformal bootstrap analyses of the 3d Ising universality class.