Euler Anomaly Research Articles

Renormalization group flows, the a-theorem and conformal bootstrap

Every renormalization group flow in d spacetime dimensions can be equivalently described as spectral deformations of a generalized free CFT in (d − 1) spacetime dimensions. This can be achieved by studying the effective action of the Nambu-Goldstone boson of broken conformal symmetry in anti-de Sitter space and then taking the flat space limit. This approach is particularly useful in even spacetime dimension where the change in the Euler anomaly aUV− aIR can be related to anomalous dimensions of lowest twist multi-trace operators in the dual CFT. As an application, we provide a simple proof of the 4d a-theorem using the dual description. Furthermore, we reinterpret the statement of the a-theorem in 6d as a conformal bootstrap problem in 5d.

On the a -theorem in the conformal window

We show that for four dimensional gauge theories in the conformal window, the Euler anomaly, known as the $a$-function, can be computed from a $2$-point function of the trace of the energy momentum tensor making it more amenable to lattice simulations. Concretely, we derive an expression for the $a$-function as an integral over the renormalisation scale of quantities related to $2$- and $3$-point functions of the trace of the energy momentum tensor.The crucial ingredients are that the square of the field strength tensor is an exactly marginal operator at the Gaussian fixed point and that the relevant $3$-point correlation function is finite when resummed to all orders. This allows us to define a scheme for which the $3$-point contribution vanishes, thereby explicitly establishing the strong version of the $a$-theorem for this class of theories.

N = 1 $$ \mathcal{N}=1 $$ Euler anomaly flow from dilaton effective action

We consider ${\cal N} =1$ supersymmetric gauge theories in the conformal window. The running of the gauge coupling is absorbed into the metric by applying a suitable matter superfield- and Weyl-transformation. The computation becomes equivalent to one of a free theory in a curved background carrying the information of the renormalisation group flow. We use the techniques of conformal anomaly matching and dilaton effective action, by Komargodski and Schwimmer, to rederive the difference of the Euler anomaly coefficient $\Delta a \equiv a_{\rm UV} - a_{\rm IR} $ for the ${\cal N} =1$ theory. The structure of $\Delta a $ is therefore in one-to-one correspondence with the Wess-Zumino dilaton action.

The Euler anomaly and scale factors in Liouville/Toda CFTs

The role played by the Euler anomaly in the dictionary relating sphere partition functions of four dimensional theories of class $\mathcal{S}$ and two dimensional nonrational CFTs is clarified. On the two dimensional side, this involves a careful treatment of scale factors in Liouville/Toda correlators. Using ideas from tinkertoy constructions for Gaiotto duality, a framework is proposed for evaluating these scale factors. The representation theory of Weyl groups plays a critical role in this framework.

On renormalization group flows and the a-theorem in 6d

We study the extension of the approach to the a-theorem of Komargodski and Schwimmer to quantum field theories in d=6 spacetime dimensions. The dilaton effective action is obtained up to 6th order in derivatives. The anomaly flow a_UV - a_IR is the coefficient of the 6-derivative Euler anomaly term in this action. It then appears at order p^6 in the low energy limit of n-point scattering amplitudes of the dilaton for n > 3. The detailed structure with the correct anomaly coefficient is confirmed by direct calculation in two examples: (i) the case of explicitly broken conformal symmetry is illustrated by the free massive scalar field, and (ii) the case of spontaneously broken conformal symmetry is demonstrated by the (2,0) theory on the Coulomb branch. In the latter example, the dilaton is a dynamical field so 4-derivative terms in the action also affect n-point amplitudes at order p^6. The calculation in the (2,0) theory is done by analyzing an M5-brane probe in AdS_7 x S^4. Given the confirmation in two distinct models, we attempt to use dispersion relations to prove that the anomaly flow is positive in general. Unfortunately the 4-point matrix element of the Euler anomaly is proportional to stu and vanishes for forward scattering. Thus the optical theorem cannot be applied to show positivity. Instead the anomaly flow is given by a dispersion sum rule in which the integrand does not have definite sign. It may be possible to base a proof of the a-theorem on the analyticity and unitarity properties of the 6-point function, but our preliminary study reveals some difficulties.

Holographic phase space: c-functions and black holes as renormalization group flows

We construct a $\mathcal N$-function for Lovelock theories of gravity, which yields a holographic $c$-function in domain-wall backgrounds, and seemingly generalizes the concept for black hole geometries. A flow equation equates the monotonicity properties of $\mathcal N$ with the gravitational field, which has opposite signs in the domain-wall and black hole backgrounds, due to the presence of negative/positive energy in the former/latter, and accordingly $\mathcal N$ monotonically decreases/increases from the UV to the IR. On $AdS$ spaces the $\mathcal N$-function is related to the Euler anomaly, and at a black hole horizon it is generically proportional to the entropy. For planar black holes, $\mathcal N$ diverges at the horizon, which we interpret as an order $N^2$ increase in the number of effective degrees of freedom. We show how $\mathcal N$ can be written as the ratio of the Wald entropy to an effective phase space volume, and using the flow equation relate this to Verlinde's notion of gravity as an entropic force. From the effective phase space we can obtain an expression for the dual field theory momentum cut-off, matching a previous proposal in the literature by Polchinski and Heemskerk. Finally, we propose that the area in Planck units counts states, not degrees of freedom, and identify it also as a phase space volume. Written in terms of the proper radial distance $\beta$, it takes the suggestive form of a canonical partition function at inverse temperature $\beta$, leading to a "mean energy" which is simply the extrinsic curvature of the surface. Using this we relate this definition of holographic phase space with the effective phase space appearing in the $\mathcal N$-function.

Non-perturbative formulas for central functions of supersymmetric gauge theories

For quantum field theories that flow between ultraviolet and infrared fixed points, central functions, defined from two-point correlators of the stress tensor and conserved currents, interpolate between central charges of the UV and IR critical theories. We develop techniques that allow one to calculate the flows of the central charges and that of the Euler trace anomaly coefficient in a general N = 1 supersymmetric gauge theory. Exact, explicit formulas for SU( N c ) gauge theories in the conformal window are given and analysed. The Euler anomaly coefficient always satisfies the inequality a UV − a IR > 0. This is new evidence in strongly coupled theories that this quantity satisfies a four-dimensional analogue of the c-theorem, supporting the idea of irreversibility of the RG flow. Various other implications are discussed.

Positivity constraints on anomalies in supersymmetric gauge theories

The relation between the trace and $R$-current anomalies in supersymmetric theories implies that the $\mathrm{U}{(1)}_{R}{F}^{2},$ $\mathrm{U}{(1)}_{R},$ and $\mathrm{U}{(1)}_{R}^{3}$ anomalies which are matched in studies of $N=1$ Seiberg duality satisfy positivity constraints. Some constraints are rigorous and others conjectured as four-dimensional generalizations of the Zamolodchikov $c$ theorem. These constraints are tested in a large number of $N=1$ supersymmetric gauge theories in the non-Abelian Coulomb phase, and they are satisfied in all renormalizable models with unique anomaly-free $R$ current, including those with accidental symmetry. Most striking is the fact that the flow of the Euler anomaly coefficient ${a}_{\mathrm{UV}}\ensuremath{-}{a}_{\mathrm{IR}}$ is always positive, as conjectured by Cardy.