Critical 3d Ising Model Research Articles

The five-point bootstrap

We study five-point correlation functions of scalar operators in d-dimensional conformal field theories. We develop a new approach to computing the five-point conformal blocks for exchanged primary operators of arbitrary spin by introducing a generalization of radial coordinates, using an appropriate ansatz, and perturbatively solving two quadratic Casimir differential equations. We then study five-point correlators 〈σσϵσσ〉 in the critical 3d Ising model. We truncate the operator product expansions (OPEs) in the correlator by including a finite number of primary operators with conformal dimension below a cutoff ∆ ⩽ ∆cutoff. We then compute several OPE coefficients involving ϵ and two spinning operators by demanding that the truncated correlator approximately satisfies the crossing relation.

Distributions in CFT. Part II. Minkowski space

CFTs in Euclidean signature satisfy well-accepted rules, such as the convergent Euclidean OPE. It is nowadays common to assume that CFT correlators exist and have various properties also in Lorentzian signature. Some of these properties may represent extra assumptions, and it is an open question if they hold for familiar statistical-physics CFTs such as the critical 3d Ising model. Here we consider Wightman 4-point functions of scalar primaries in Lorentzian signature. We derive a minimal set of their properties solely from the Euclidean unitary CFT axioms, without using extra assumptions. We establish all Wightman axioms (temperedness, spectral property, local commutativity, clustering), Lorentzian conformal invariance, and distributional convergence of the s-channel Lorentzian OPE. This is done constructively, by analytically continuing the 4-point functions using the s-channel OPE expansion in the radial cross-ratios ρ, overline{rho} . We prove a key fact that |ρ|, left|overline{rho}right| < 1 inside the forward tube, and set bounds on how fast |ρ|, left|overline{rho}right| may tend to 1 when approaching the Minkowski space.We also provide a guide to the axiomatic QFT literature for the modern CFT audience. We review the Wightman and Osterwalder-Schrader (OS) axioms for Lorentzian and Euclidean QFTs, and the celebrated OS theorem connecting them. We also review a classic result of Mack about the distributional OPE convergence. Some of the classic arguments turn out useful in our setup. Others fall short of our needs due to Lorentzian assumptions (Mack) or unverifiable Euclidean assumptions (OS theorem).

A structural test for the conformal invariance of the critical 3d Ising model

How can a renormalization group fixed point be scale invariant without being conformal? Polchinski (1988) showed that this may happen if the theory contains a virial current — a non-conserved vector operator of dimension exactly (d − 1), whose divergence expresses the trace of the stress tensor. We point out that this scenario can be probed via lattice Monte Carlo simulations, using the critical 3d Ising model as an example. Our results put a lower bound ΔV > 5.0 on the scaling dimension of the lowest virial current candidate V, well above 2 expected for the true virial current. This implies that the critical 3d Ising model has no virial current, providing a structural explanation for the conformal invariance of the model.

The 3d stress-tensor bootstrap

We study the conformal bootstrap for 4-point functions of stress tensors in parity-preserving 3d CFTs. To set up the bootstrap equations, we analyze the constraints of conformal symmetry, permutation symmetry, and conservation on the stress-tensor 4-point function and identify a non-redundant set of crossing equations. Studying these equations numerically using semidefinite optimization, we compute bounds on the central charge as a function of the independent coefficient in the stress-tensor 3-point function. With no additional assumptions, these bounds numerically reproduce the conformal collider bounds and give a general lower bound on the central charge. We also study the effect of gaps in the scalar, spin-2, and spin-4 spectra on the central charge bound. We find general upper bounds on these gaps as well as tighter restrictions on the stress-tensor 3-point function coefficients for theories with moderate gaps. When the gap for the leading scalar or spin-2 operator is sufficiently large to exclude large N theories, we also obtain upper bounds on the central charge, thus finding compact allowed regions. Finally, assuming the known low-lying spectrum and central charge of the critical 3d Ising model, we determine its stress-tensor 3-point function and derive a bound on its leading parity-odd scalar.

Numerical estimation of structure constants in the three-dimensional Ising conformal field theory through Markov chain uv sampler.

Herdeiro and Doyon [Phys. Rev. E 94, 043322 (2016)2470-004510.1103/PhysRevE.94.043322] introduced a numerical recipe, dubbed uv sampler, offering precise estimations of the conformal field theory (CFT) data of the planar two-dimensional (2D) critical Ising model. It made use of scale invariance emerging at the critical point in order to sample finite sublattice marginals of the infinite plane Gibbs measure of the model by producing holographic boundary distributions. The main ingredient of the Markov chain Monte Carlo sampler is the invariance under dilation. This paper presents a generalization to higher dimensions with the critical 3D Ising model. This leads to numerical estimations of a subset of the CFT data-scaling weights and structure constants-through fitting of measured correlation functions. The results are shown to agree with the recent most precise estimations from numerical bootstrap methods [Kos, Poland, Simmons-Duffin, and Vichi, J. High Energy Phys. 08 (2016) 03610.1007/JHEP08(2016)036].

Non-gaussianity of the critical 3d Ising model

We discuss the 4pt function of the critical 3d Ising model, extracted from recent conformal bootstrap results. We focus on the non-gaussianity QQ – the ratio of the 4pt function to its gaussian part given by three Wick contractions. This ratio reveals significant non-gaussianity of the critical fluctuations. The bootstrap results are consistent with a rigorous inequality due to Lebowitz and Aizenman, which limits QQ to lie between 1/31/3 and 11.

Conformal symmetry of the critical 3D Ising model inside a sphere

We perform Monte-Carlo simulations of the three-dimensional Ising model at the critical temperature and zero magnetic field. We simulate the system in a ball with free boundary conditions on the two dimensional spherical boundary. Our results for one and two point functions in this geometry are consistent with the predictions from the conjectured conformal symmetry of the critical Ising model.

Solving the 3d Ising Model with the Conformal Bootstrap II. $$c$$ c -Minimization and Precise Critical Exponents

We use the conformal bootstrap to perform a precision study of the operator spectrum of the critical 3d Ising model. We conjecture that the 3d Ising spectrum minimizes the central charge $$c$$ in the space of unitary solutions to crossing symmetry. Because extremal solutions to crossing symmetry are uniquely determined, we are able to precisely reconstruct the first several $$\mathbb {Z}_2$$ -even operator dimensions and their OPE coefficients. We observe that a sharp transition in the operator spectrum occurs at the 3d Ising dimension $$\Delta _\sigma = 0.518154(15)$$ , and find strong numerical evidence that operators decouple from the spectrum as one approaches the 3d Ising point. We compare this behavior to the analogous situation in 2d, where the disappearance of operators can be understood in terms of degenerate Virasoro representations.

Bootstrapping the 3d Ising twist defect

Recent numerical results point to the existence of a conformally invariant twist defect in the critical 3d Ising model. In this note we show that this fact is supported by both epsilon expansion and conformal bootstrap calculations. We find that our results are in good agreement with the numerical data. We also make new predictions for operator dimensions and OPE coefficients from the bootstrap approach. In the process we derive universal bounds on one-dimensional conformal field theories and conformal line defects.

Line defects in the 3d Ising model

We investigate the properties of the twist line defect in the critical 3d Ising model using Monte Carlo simulations. In this model the twist line defect is the boundary of a surface of frustrated links or, in a dual description, the Wilson line of the $ {{\mathbb{Z}}_2} $ gauge theory. We test the hypothesis that the twist line defect flows to a conformal line defect at criticality and evaluate numerically the low-lying spectrum of anomalous dimensions of the local operators which live on the defect as well as mixed correlation functions of local operators in the bulk and on the defect.