Ryu Takayanagi Research Articles

AdS vacuum bubbles, holography and dual RG flows

We explore the holographic properties of non-perturbative vacuum decay in anti-de Sitter () geometries. To this end, we consider a gravitational theory in a metastable state, which decays into an of lower vacuum energy via bubble nucleation, and we employ the Ryu–Takayanagi conjecture to compute the entanglement entropy in its alleged holographic dual. Our analysis connects the nucleation and growth of a vacuum bubble to a relevant deformation and a subsequent renormalization group (RG) flow in the boundary theory, with a c-function. We provide some evidence for the claim and comment on the holographic interpretation of off-centred or multiple bubbles. We also frame the issue in the formalism of Holographic Integral Geometry, highlighting some consequences on the structure of the holographic RG flow and recovering the standard holographic RG as a limiting case.

Holographic entanglement entropy for black strings

The holographic entanglement entropy (HEE) of field theories dual to 4-dimensional black strings with both the infinity boundary and near the horizon is investigated. It is shown that, with the infinity boundary, the main contribution of the HEE is divergent and it comes from the AdS background. If we remove this contribution, the remaining part is finite and proportional to the mass and charge densities. Near the horizon, we find that the HEE equals the Bekenstein–Hawking entropy if the subsystem covers the whole conformal boundary, for both charged and uncharged cases. In particular, the minimal surface (Ryu–Takayanagi surface) always stays in the bulk region for uncharged and non-extremal charged cases, while it is immersed inside the boundary for extremal black string.

Fine structure in holographic entanglement and entanglement contour

We explore the fine structure of the holographic entanglement entropy proposal (the Ryu-Takayanagi formula) in AdS$_3$/CFT$_{2}$. With the guidance from the boundary and bulk modular flows we find a natural slicing of the entanglement wedge with the modular planes, which are co-dimension one bulk surfaces tangent to the modular flow everywhere. This gives an one-to-one correspondence between the points on the boundary interval $\mathcal{A}$ and the points on the Ryu-Takayanagi (RT) surface $\mathcal{E}_{\mathcal{A}}$. In the same sense an arbitrary subinterval $\mathcal{A}_2$ of $\mathcal{A}$ will correspond to a subinterval $\mathcal{E}_2$ of $\mathcal{E}_{\mathcal{A}}$. This fine correspondence indicates that the length of $\mathcal{E}_2$ captures the contribution $s_{\mathcal{A}}(\mathcal{A}_2)$ from $\mathcal{A}_2$ to the entanglement entropy $S_{\mathcal{A}}$, hence gives the contour function for entanglement entropy. Furthermore we propose that $s_{\mathcal{A}}(\mathcal{A}_2)$ in general can be written as a simple linear combination of entanglement entropies of single intervals inside $\mathcal{A}$. This proposal passes several non-trivial tests.

Holographic complexity of the disk subregion in ( 2+1 )-dimensional gapped systems

Using the volume of the space enclosed by the Ryu-Takayanagi (RT) surface, we study the complexity of the disk-shape subregion (with radius R) in various ($2+1$)-dimensional gapped systems with gravity dual. These systems include a class of toy models with singular IR and the bottom-up models for quantum chromodynamics and fractional quantum Hall effects. Two main results are: (i) in the large-R expansion of the complexity, the R-linear term is always absent, similar to the absence of topological entanglement entropy, and (ii) when the entanglement entropy exhibits the classic ``swallowtail'' phase transition, the complexity is sensitive but reacts differently.

Ryu-Takayanagi formula for symmetric random tensor networks

We consider the special case of Random Tensor Networks (RTN) endowed with gauge symmetry constraints on each tensor. We compute the R\`enyi entropy for such states and recover the Ryu-Takayanagi (RT) formula in the large bond regime. The result provides first of all an interesting new extension of the existing derivations of the RT formula for RTNs. Moreover, this extension of the RTN formalism brings it in direct relation with (tensorial) group field theories (and spin networks), and thus provides new tools for realizing the tensor network/geometry duality in the context of background independent quantum gravity, and for importing quantum gravity tools in tensor network research.

Gravity from entanglement for boundary subregions

We explore several aspects of the relation between gravity and entanglement in the context of AdS/CFT, in the simple setting of 3 bulk dimensions. Specifically, we consider small perturbations of the AdS metric and the CFT vacuum state and study what can be learnt about the metric perturbation from the Ryu-Takayanagi (RT) formula alone. It is well-known that, if the RT formula holds for all boundary spacelike segments, then the metric perturbation satisfies the linearized Einstein equations throughout the bulk. We generalize this result by showing that, if the RT formula holds for all spacelike segments contained in a certain boundary region, then the metric perturbation satisfies the linearized Einstein equations in a corresponding bulk region (in fact, it is completely determined in that region). We also argue that the same is true for small perturbations of the planar BTZ black hole and the CFT thermal state. We discuss the relation between our results and the ideas of subregion-subregion duality, and we point out that our argument also serves as a holographic proof of the linearized RT formula for boundary segments.

Topological Complexity in AdS3/CFT2

AbstractWe consider subregion complexity within the AdS3/CFT2 correspondence. We rewrite the volume proposal, according to which the complexity of a reduced density matrix is given by the spacetime volume contained inside the associated Ryu‐Takayanagi (RT) surface, in terms of an integral over the curvature. Using the Gauss‐Bonnet theorem we evaluate this quantity for general entangling regions and temperature. In particular, we find that the discontinuity that occurs under a change in the RT surface is given by a fixed topological contribution, independent of the temperature or details of the entangling region. We offer a definition and interpretation of subregion complexity in the context of tensor networks, and show numerically that it reproduces the qualitative features of the holographic computation in the case of a random tensor network using its relation to the Ising model. Finally, we give a prescription for computing subregion complexity directly in CFT using the kinematic space formalism, and use it to reproduce some of our explicit gravity results obtained at zero temperature. We thus obtain a concrete matching of results for subregion complexity between the gravity and tensor network approaches, as well as a CFT prescription.

Group field theory and tensor networks: towards a Ryu–Takayanagi formula in full quantum gravity

We establish a dictionary between group field theory (thus, spin networks and random tensors) states and generalized random tensor networks. Then, we use this dictionary to compute the Rényi entropy of such states and recover the Ryu–Takayanagi formula, in two different cases corresponding to two different truncations/approximations, suggested by the established correspondence.

Exact Holography of Massive M2-brane Theories and Entanglement Entropy

We test the gauge/gravity duality between the N = 6 mass-deformed ABJM theory with Uk(N) × U-k(N) gauge symmetry and the 11-dimensional supergravity on LLM geometries with SO(4)=ℤk × SO(4)=ℤk isometry. Our analysis is based on the evaluation of vacuum expectation values of chiral primary operators from the supersymmetric vacua of mass-deformed ABJM theory and from the implementation of Kaluza-Klein (KK) holography to the LLM geometries. We focus on the chiral primary operator (CPO) with conformal dimension Δ = 1. The non-vanishing vacuum expectation value (vev) implies the breaking of conformal symmetry. In that case, we show that the variation of the holographic entanglement entropy (HEE) from it’s value in the CFT, is related to the non-vanishing one-point function due to the relevant deformation as well as the source field. Applying Ryu Takayanagi’s HEE conjecture to the 4-dimensional gravity solutions, which are obtained from the KK reduction of the 11-dimensional LLM solutions, we calculate the variation of the HEE. We show how the vev and the value of the source field determine the HEE.

Static elliptic minimal surfaces in hbox {AdS}_4

The Ryu–Takayanagi conjecture connects the entanglement entropy in the boundary CFT to the area of open co-dimension two minimal surfaces in the bulk. Especially in hbox {AdS}_4, the latter are two-dimensional surfaces, and, thus, solutions of a Euclidean non-linear sigma model on a symmetric target space that can be reduced to an integrable system via Pohlmeyer reduction. In this work, we construct static minimal surfaces in hbox {AdS}_4 that correspond to elliptic solutions of the reduced system, namely the cosh-Gordon equation, via the inversion of Pohlmeyer reduction. The constructed minimal surfaces comprise a two-parameter family of surfaces that include helicoids and catenoids in H^3 as special limits. Minimal surfaces that correspond to identical boundary conditions are discovered within the constructed family of surfaces and the relevant geometric phase transitions are studied.

Holography as deep learning

Quantum many-body problem with exponentially large degrees of freedom can be reduced to a tractable computational form by neural network method [G. Carleo and M. Troyer, Science 355 (2017) 602, arXiv:1606.02318.] The power of deep neural network (DNN) based on deep learning is clarified by mapping it to renormalization group (RG), which may shed lights on holographic principle by identifying a sequence of RG transformations to the AdS geometry. In this paper, we show that any network which reflects RG process has intrinsic hyperbolic geometry, and discuss the structure of entanglement encoded in the graph of DNN. We find the entanglement structure of DNN is of Ryu–Takayanagi form. Based on these facts, we argue that the emergence of holographic gravitational theory is related to deep learning process of the quantum-field theory.

The Ryu–Takayanagi Formula from Quantum Error Correction

I argue that a version of the quantum-corrected Ryu-Takayanagi formula holds in any quantum error-correcting code. I present this result as a series of theorems of increasing generality, with the final statement expressed in the language of operator-algebra quantum error correction. In AdS/CFT this gives a "purely boundary" interpretation of the formula. I also extend a recent theorem, which established entanglement-wedge reconstruction in AdS/CFT, when interpreted as a subsystem code, to the more general, and I argue more physical, case of subalgebra codes. For completeness, I include a self-contained presentation of the theory of von Neumann algebras on finite-dimensional Hilbert spaces, as well as the algebraic definition of entropy. The results confirm a close relationship between bulk gauge transformations, edge-modes/soft-hair on black holes, and the Ryu-Takayanagi formula. They also suggest a new perspective on the homology constraint, which basically is to get rid of it in a way that preserves the validity of the formula, but which removes any tension with the linearity of quantum mechanics. Moreover they suggest a boundary interpretation of the "bit threads" recently introduced by Freedman and Headrick.

Bit Threads and Holographic Entanglement

The Ryu-Takayanagi (RT) formula relates the entanglement entropy of a region in a holographic theory to the area of a corresponding bulk minimal surface. Using the max flow-min cut principle, a theorem from network theory, we rewrite the RT formula in a way that does not make reference to the minimal surface. Instead, we invoke the notion of a "flow", defined as a divergenceless norm-bounded vector field, or equivalently a set of Planck-thickness "bit threads". The entanglement entropy of a boundary region is given by the maximum flux out of it of any flow, or equivalently the maximum number of bit threads that can emanate from it. The threads thus represent entanglement between points on the boundary, and naturally implement the holographic principle. As we explain, this new picture clarifies several conceptual puzzles surrounding the RT formula. We give flow-based proofs of strong subadditivity and related properties; unlike the ones based on minimal surfaces, these proofs correspond in a transparent manner to the properties' information-theoretic meanings. We also briefly discuss certain technical advantages that the flows offer over minimal surfaces. In a mathematical appendix, we review the max flow-min cut theorem on networks and on Riemannian manifolds, and prove in the network case that the set of max flows varies Lipshitz continuously in the network parameters.

Tensor networks, $p$-adic fields, and algebraic curves: arithmetic and the $\mathrm{AdS}_3 / \mathrm{CFT}_2$ correspondence

One of the many remarkable properties of conformal field theory in two dimensions is its connection to algebraic geometry. Since every compact Riemann surface is a projective algebraic curve, many constructions of interest in physics (which a priori depend on the analytic structure of the spacetime) can be formulated in purely algebraic language. This opens the door to interesting generalizations, obtained by taking another choice of field: for instance, the p-adics. We generalize the AdS/CFT correspondence according to this principle; the result is a formulation of holography in which the bulk geometry is discrete—the Bruhat–Tits tree for PGL(2,Qp)—but the group of bulk isometries nonetheless agrees with that of boundary conformal transformations and is not broken by discretization. We suggest that this forms the natural geometric setting for tensor networks that have been proposed as models of bulk reconstruction via quantum error correcting codes; in certain cases, geodesics in the Bruhat–Tits tree reproduce those constructed using quantum error correction. Other aspects of holography also hold: Standard holographic results for massive free scalar fields in a fixed background carry over to the tree, whose vertical direction can be interpreted as a renormalization-group scale for modes in the boundary CFT. Higher-genus bulk geometries (the BTZ black hole and its generalizations) can be understood straightforwardly in our setting, and the Ryu–Takayanagi formula for the entanglement entropy appears naturally.

Holographic entanglement entropy for noncommutative anti-de Sitter space

A metric is proposed to explore the noncommutative form of the anti-de Sitter (AdS) space due to quantum effects. It has been proved that the noncommutativity in AdS space induces a single component gravitoelectric field. The holographic Ryu–Takayanagi (RT) algorithm is then applied to compute the entanglement entropy (EE) in dual CFT2. This calculation can be exploited to compute ultraviolet–infrared (UV–IR) cutoff dependent central charge of the certain noncommutative CFT2. This noncommutative computation of the EE can be interpreted in the form of the surface/state correspondence. We have shown that noncommutativity increases the dimension of the effective Hilbert space of the dual conformal field theory (CFT).

De Sitter space and extremal surfaces for spheres

Following arXiv:1501.03019 [hep-th], we study de Sitter space and spherical subregions on a constant boundary Euclidean time slice of the future boundary in the Poincaré slicing. We show that as in that case, complex extremal surfaces exist here as well: for even boundary dimensions, we isolate the universal coefficient of the logarithmically divergent term in the area of these surfaces. There are parallels with analytic continuation of the Ryu–Takayanagi expressions for holographic entanglement entropy in AdS/CFT. We then study the free energy of the dual Euclidean CFT on a sphere holographically using the dS/CFT dictionary with a dual de Sitter space in global coordinates, and a classical approximation for the wavefunction of the universe. For even dimensions, we again isolate the coefficient of the logarithmically divergent term which is expected to be related to the conformal anomaly. We find agreement including numerical factors between these coefficients.

Generalized information and entanglement entropy, gravitation and holography

A nonextensive statistical mechanics entropy that depends only on the probability distribution is proposed in the framework of superstatistics. It is based on a Γ(χ2) distribution that depends on β and also on pl. The corresponding modified von Neumann entropy is constructed; it is shown that it can also be obtained from a generalized Replica trick. We further demonstrate a generalized H-theorem. Considering the entropy as a function of the temperature and volume, it is possible to generalize the equation of state of an ideal gas. Moreover, following the entropic force formulation a generalized Newton's law is obtained, and following the proposal that the Einstein equations can be deduced from the Clausius law, we discuss on the structure that a generalized Einstein's theory would have. Lastly, we address the question whether the generalized entanglement entropy can play a role in the gauge/gravity duality. We pay attention to 2d CFT and their gravity duals. The correction terms to the von Neumann entropy result more relevant than the usual UV ones and also than those due to the area dependent AdS3 entropy which result comparable to the UV ones. Then the correction terms due to the new entropy would modify the Ryu–Takayanagi identification between the CFT entanglement entropy and the AdS entropy in a different manner than the UV ones or than the corrections to the AdS3 area dependent entropy.

Nonlinear constraints on gravity from entanglement

Using the positivity of relative entropy arising from the Ryu–Takayanagi formula for spherical entangling surfaces, we obtain constraints at the nonlinear level for the gravitational dual. We calculate the Green’s function necessary to compute the first order correction to the entangling surface and use this to find the relative entropy for non-constant stress tensors in a derivative expansion. We show that the Einstein value satisfies the positivity condition, while the multi-dimensional parameter space away from it gets constrained.

Complex entangling surfaces for AdS and Lifshitz black holes?

We discuss the possible relevance of complex codimension-two extremal surfaces to the Ryu–Takayanagi holographic entanglement proposal and its covariant Hubeny–Rangamani–Takayanagi generalization. Such surfaces live in a complexified bulk spacetime defined by analytic continuation. We identify surfaces of this type for BTZ, Schwarzschild–AdS, and Schwarzschild–Lifshitz planar black holes. Since the dual CFT interpretation for the imaginary part of their areas is unclear, we focus on a straw man proposal relating CFT entropy to the real part of the area alone. For Schwarzschild–AdS and Schwarzschild–Lifshitz, we identify families where the real part of the area agrees with qualitative physical expectations for the time-dependence of the appropriate CFT entropy and, in addition, where it is smaller than the area of corresponding real extremal surfaces. It is thus plausible that the CFT entropy is controlled by these complex extremal surfaces.

EPR = ER, scattering amplitude and entanglement entropy change

We study the causal structure of the minimal surface of the four-gluon scattering, and find a world-sheet wormhole parametrized by Mandelstam variables, thereby demonstrate the EPR = ER relation for gluon scattering. We also propose that scattering amplitude is the change of the entanglement entropy by generalizing the holographic entanglement entropy of Ryu–Takayanagi to the case where two regions are divided in space–time.