Pure Gravity Theory Research Articles

Approximate CFTs and random tensor models

A key issue in both the field of quantum chaos and quantum gravity is an effective description of chaotic conformal field theories (CFTs), that is CFTs that have a quantum ergodic limit. We develop a framework incorporating the constraints of conformal symmetry and locality, allowing the definition of ensembles of ‘CFT data’. These ensembles take on the same role as the ensembles of random Hamiltonians in more conventional quantum ergodic phases of many-body quantum systems. To describe individual members of the ensembles, we introduce the notion of approximate CFT, defined as a collection of ‘CFT data’ satisfying the usual CFT constraints approximately, i.e. up to small deviations. We show that they generically exist by providing concrete examples. Ensembles of approximate CFTs are very natural in holography, as every member of the ensemble is indistinguishable from a true CFT for low-energy probes that only have access to information from semi-classical gravity. To specify these ensembles, we impose successively higher moments of the CFT constraints. Lastly, we propose a theory of pure gravity in AdS3 as a random matrix/tensor model implementing approximate CFT constraints. This tensor model is the maximum ignorance ensemble compatible with conformal symmetry, crossing invariance, and a primary gap to the black-hole threshold. The resulting theory is a random matrix/tensor model governed by the Virasoro 6j-symbol.

Particle motion, shadows and thermodynamics of regular black hole in pure gravity

This paper investigates the thermodynamic behaviors and optical properties of regular black holes within pure gravity theories, notable for their absence of singularities. Using both analytical and numerical methods, we analyze the thermodynamics to identify stability and phase transitions, and explore the particle dynamics behavior of regular black holes. We analyze the particle dynamics properties by investigating the effective potential, energy density, angular momentum, ISCO, photon, and shadow radius. We analyze the thermal features by exploring the mass, temperature, specific heat, and Gibbs free energy. Our findings demonstrate that regular black holes exhibit distinct behaviors from traditional singular black holes, providing valuable insights into black hole physics and general relativity. This study suggests new directions for future research in fundamental gravitational theories.

More on pure gravity with a negative cosmological constant

We identify an ambiguity in the Chern-Simons formulation of three-dimensional gravity with negative cosmological constant that originates in an outer automorphism of the Lie algebra sl\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ \\mathfrak{sl} $$\\end{document}(2, ℝ). It has important consequences for the stability of the theory in a space-time with boundary. We revisit the classical equivalence of three-dimensional gravity with a boundary Liouville theory both on and off the mass shell. Moreover, we provide further details on the quantum equivalence, the gauge symmetry that renders the spectrum diagonal, as well as the relation between asymptotically AdS3 metrics and polar boundary conditions. We thus set the proposal that the Liouville conformal field theory serves as a definition of a unitary theory of pure gravity in three dimensions with negative cosmological constant on a more stable footing.

A proposal for 3d quantum gravity and its bulk factorization

Recent progress in AdS/CFT has provided a good understanding of how the bulk spacetime is encoded in the entanglement structure of the boundary CFT. However, little is known about how spacetime emerges directly from the bulk quantum theory. We address this question in an effective 3d quantum theory of pure gravity, which describes the high temperature regime of a holographic CFT. This theory can be viewed as a q-deformation and dimensional uplift of JT gravity. Using this model, we show that the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy of a two-sided black hole equals the bulk entanglement entropy of gravitational edge modes. In the conventional Chern-Simons description, these black holes correspond to Wilson lines in representations of PSL(2, ℝ) ⨂ PSL(2, ℝ). We show that the correct calculation of gravitational entropy suggests we should interpret the bulk theory as an extended topological quantum field theory associated to the quantum semi-group {textrm{SL}}_q^{+}left(2,mathbb{R}right)bigotimes {textrm{SL}}_q^{+}left(2,mathbb{R}right) . Our calculation suggests an effective description of bulk microstates in terms of collective, anyonic degrees of freedom whose entanglement leads to the emergence of the bulk spacetime.

Higher derivative contributions to black hole thermodynamics at NNLO

In an effective theory of gravity, thermodynamic quantities of black holes receive corrections from the infinite series of higher derivative terms. At the next to leading order, these can be obtained by using only the leading order solution. In this paper, we push forward this property to the next to next to leading order. We propose a formula which yields the Euclidean action of asymptotically flat black holes at the next to next to leading order using only the solution up to and including the next to leading order. Other conserved quantities are derived from the Euclidean action via standard thermodynamic relation. We verify our formula in examples of D-dimensional pure gravity and Einstein-Maxwell theory extended by 4- and 6-derivative terms. Based on our formula, we also prove that for asymptotically flat black holes, the physical quantities are invariant under field redefinitions.

Topological classes of rotating black holes

In this paper, we investigate the topological numbers for the singly rotating Kerr black holes in all dimensions and the four-dimensional Kerr-Newman black hole. We show that for uncharged black holes, the rotation parameter has a significant effect on the topological number, and for rotating black holes, the dimension of spacetimes has a remarkable effect on the topological number too. In addition, we find that the topological numbers of the four-dimensional Kerr and Kerr-Newman black holes are the same, which seems to indicate that the electric charge parameter has no effect on the topological number of rotating black holes. Our current research provides more evidence that the conjecture put forward in Wei et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett., 129, 191101 (2022)], according to which all black hole solutions should be separated into three different topological classes, is accurate, at least in the pure Einstein-Maxwell gravity theory.

On the entropy of strings and branes

We show that the entropy of strings that wind around the Euclidean time circle is proportional to the Noether charge associated with translations along the T-dual time direction. We consider an effective target-space field theory which includes a large class of terms in the action with various modes, interactions and α′ corrections. The entropy and the Noether charge are shown to depend only on the values of fields at the boundary of space. The classical entropy, which is proportional to the inverse of Newton’s constant, is then calculated by evaluating the appropriate boundary term for various geometries with and without a horizon. We verify, in our framework, that for higher-curvature pure gravity theories, the Wald entropy of static neutral black hole solutions is equal to the entropy derived from the Gibbons-Hawking boundary term. We then proceed to discuss horizonless geometries which contain, due to the back-reaction of the strings and branes, a second boundary in addition to the asymptotic boundary. Near this “punctured” boundary, the time-time component of the metric and the derivatives of its logarithm approach zero. Assuming that there are such non-singular solutions, we identify the entropy of the strings and branes in this geometry with the entropy of the solution to all orders in α′. If the asymptotic region of an α′-corrected neutral black hole is connected through the bulk to a puncture, then the black hole entropy is equal to the entropy of the strings and branes. Later, we discuss configurations similar to the charged black p-brane solutions of Horowitz and Strominger, with the second boundary, and show that, to leading order in the α′ expansion, the classical entropy of the strings and branes is equal exactly to the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy. This result is extended to a configuration that asymptotes to AdS.

A Review of Third Way Consistent Theories

We will give an overview of “third way consistent” theories. Field equations of such models do not come from the variation of a local action without auxiliary fields, yet their covariant divergences still vanish on-shell. First examples were discovered in three dimensions which were pure massive gravity and Yang-Mills theories. However, recently interacting p-form theories with this property in arbitrary dimensions were also constructed. After explaining construction of these theories and some of their general features, we will discuss some open problems and future directions.

Laser interferometer in presence of scalar field on gravitational wave background

Detection of gravitational waves opened new windows on fundamental physics and it would be natural to search how the role of extra dimensional effects can be traced to gravitational wave physics. In this article, we consider a toy model of five dimensional pure gravity theory compactified on a circle. The resulting four dimensional theory is a scalar-Maxwell theory which is minimally coupled with gravity. By finding the equations of motion for scalar, electric and magnetic fields, we would be able to find exact wave solutions of coupled equations which are zero mode solutions. We also perform perturbation in order to consider non-zero modes of electromagnetic fields. Having these solutions at hand, we study the recombination of scalar-affected electromagnetic waves in a typical Michelson interferometer. In particular, we obtain, up to first order, the change of amplitude of electromagnetic power due to presence of this scalar field which may reveal some signals of extra dimension.

Teleparallel gravity with non-vanishing curvature

Guided by the rules of Einstein’s geometrization philosophy, a pure geometric field theory is constructed. The Lagrangian used to derive the field equations of the theory is a curvature scalar of a version of absolute parallelism (AP) geometry known in the literature as the parameterized absolute parallelism (PAP) geometry. The linear connection of this version has simultaneously non-vanishing curvature and torsion. Analysis of the theory obtained shows clearly that it is a pure gravity theory. The theory is a teleparallel one, since the building blocks of both PAP and AP geometries are the same. It is shown analytically that the theory has a trivial version in the AP-geometry, if gravity is attributed to curvature not to torsion. In the case of spherical symmetry, solutions of the field equations give rise to the Schwarzschild exterior field. The theory depends on two principles: covariance and unification. The weak equivalence principle is satisfied under a certain condition. The work preserves Einstein’s main idea that gravity is just space–time curvature, although it is not a metric theory. It is shown that the theory reduces to vacuum general relativity upon taking the parameter of the geometry b = 0.

Criticality at absolute zero from Ising model on two-dimensional dynamical triangulations

We reconsider the criticality of the Ising model on two-dimensional dynamical triangulations based on the N-by-N hermitian two-matrix model with the introduction of a loop-counting parameter and linear terms in the potential. We show that in the large-N limit even though the Ising model is classical, the critical temperature can reach absolute zero by tuning the loop-counting parameter, and the corresponding continuum theory turns out to be the quantised theory of neither pure gravity nor gravity coupled to conformal matter with central charge being 1/2.

Gregory\u2013Laflamme analysis of MGD black strings

The minimal geometric deformation (MGD), associated with the 4D Schwarzschild solution of the Einstein equations, is shown to be a solution of the pure 4D Ricci quadratic gravity theory, whose linear perturbations are then implemented by the Gregory–Laflamme eigentensors of the Lichnerowicz operator. The stability of MGD black strings is hence studied, through the correspondence between their Lichnerowicz eigenmodes and the ones associated with the 4D MGD solutions. It is shown that there exists a critical mass driving the MGD black strings stability, above which the MGD black string is precluded from any Gregory–Laflamme instability. The general-relativistic limit shows the MGD black string to be unstable, as expected, corresponding to the standard Gregory–Laflamme black string instability.

Relativistic thermodynamics, a Lagrangian field theory for general flows including rotation

Any theory that is based on an action principle has a much greater predictive power than one that does not have such a formulation. The formulation of a dynamical theory of General Relativity, including matter, is here viewed as a problem of coupling Einstein’s theory of pure gravity to an independently chosen and well-defined field theory of matter. It is well known that this is accomplished in a most natural way when both theories are formulated as relativistic, Lagrangian field theories, as is the case with Einstein–Maxwell theory. Special matter models of this type have been available; here a more general thermodynamical model that allows for vortex flows is presented. In a wider context, the problem of subjecting hydrodynamics and thermodynamics to an action principle is one that has been pursued for at least 150 years. A solution to this problem has been known for some time, but only under the strong restriction to potential flows. A variational principle for general flows has become available. It represents a development of the Navier–Stokes–Fourier approach to fluid dynamics. The principal innovation is the recognition that two kinds of flow velocity fields are needed, one the gradient of a scalar field and the other the time derivative of a vector field, the latter closely associated with vorticity. In the relativistic theory that is presented here, the latter is the Hodge dual of an exact 3-form, well known as the notoph field of Ogievetskij and Palubarinov, the [Formula: see text]-field of Kalb and Ramond and the vorticity field of Lund and Regge. The total number of degrees of freedom of a unary system, including the density and the two velocity fields is 4, as expected — as in classical hydrodynamics. In this paper, we do not reduce Einstein’s dynamical equation for the metric to phenomenology, which would have denied the relevance of any intrinsic dynamics for the matter sector, nor do we abandon the equation of continuity - the very soul of hydrodynamics.

Some aspects of holographic W-gravity

We use the Chern-Simons formulation of higher spin theories in three dimensions to study aspects of holographic W-gravity. Concepts which were useful in studies of pure bulk gravity theories, such as the Fefferman-Graham gauge and the residual gauge transformations, which induce Weyl transformations in the boundary theory and their higher spin generalizations, are reformulated in the Chern-Simons language. Flat connections that correspond to conformal and lightcone gauges in the boundary theory are considered.

Scattering of massless particles in arbitrary dimensions.

We present a compact formula for the complete tree-level S-matrix of pure Yang-Mills and gravity theories in arbitrary spacetime dimensions. The new formula for the scattering of n particles is given by an integral over the positions of n points on a sphere restricted to satisfy a dimension-independent set of equations. The integrand is constructed using the reduced Pfaffian of a 2n×2n matrix, Ψ, that depends on momenta and polarization vectors. In its simplest form, the gravity integrand is a reduced determinant which is the square of the Pfaffian in the Yang-Mills integrand. Gauge invariance is completely manifest as it follows from a simple property of the Pfaffian.

Scattering of massless particles: scalars, gluons and gravitons

In a recent note we presented a compact formula for the complete tree-level S-matrix of pure Yang-Mills and gravity theories in arbitrary spacetime dimension. In this paper we show that a natural formulation also exists for a massless colored cubic scalar theory. In Yang-Mills, the formula is an integral over the space of n marked points on a sphere and has as integrand two factors. The first factor is a combination of Parke-Taylor-like terms dressed with U(N) color structures while the second is a Pfaffian. The S-matrix of a U(N)xU(N') cubic scalar theory is obtained by simply replacing the Pfaffian with a U(N') version of the previous U(N) factor. Given that gravity amplitudes are obtained by replacing the U(N) factor in Yang-Mills by a second Pfaffian, we are led to a natural color-kinematics correspondence. An expansion of the integrand of the scalar theory leads to sums over trivalent graphs and are directly related to the KLT matrix. We find a connection to the BCJ color-kinematics duality as well as a new proof of the BCJ doubling property that gives rise to gravity amplitudes. We end by considering a special kinematic point where the partial amplitude simply counts the number of color-ordered planar trivalent trees, which equals a Catalan number. The scattering equations simplify dramatically and are equivalent to a special Y-system with solutions related to roots of Chebyshev polynomials.

Generalized black holes in three-dimensional spacetime

Three-dimensional spacetime with a negative cosmological constant has proven to be a remarkably fertile ground for the study of gravity and higher spin fields. The theory is topological and, since there are no propagating field degrees of freedom, the asymptotic symmetries become all the more crucial. For pure (2+1) gravity they consist of two copies of the Virasoro algebra. There exists a black hole which may be endowed with all the corresponding charges. The pure (2+1) gravity theory may be reformulated in terms of two Chern-Simons connections for sl(2,R). An immediate generalization containing gravity and a finite number of higher spin fields may be achieved by replacing sl(2,R) by sl(3,R) or, more generally, by sl(N,R). The asymptotic symmetries are then two copies of the so-called W_N algebra, which contains the Virasoro algebra as a subalgebra. The question then arises as to whether there exists a generalization of the standard pure gravity (2+1) black hole which would be endowed with all the W_N charges. The original pioneering proposal of a black hole along this line for N=3 turns out, as shown in this paper, to actually belong to the so called "diagonal embedding" of sl(2,R) in sl(3,R), and it is therefore endowed with charges of lower rather than higher spins. In contradistinction, we exhibit herein the most general black hole which belongs to the "principal embedding". It is endowed with higher spin charges, and possesses two copies of W_3 as its asymptotic symmetries. The most general diagonal embedding black hole is studied in detail as well, in a way in which its lower spin charges are clearly displayed. The extension to N>3 is also discussed. A general formula for the entropy of a generalized black hole is obtained in terms of the on-shell holonomies.

A Topological Magueijo-Smolin Varying Speed of Light Theory, the Accelerated Cosmic Expansion and the Dark Energy of Pure Gravity

The paper presents a detailed analysis of ordinary and dark energy density of the cosmos based on two different but complimentary theories. First, and starting from the concept of the speed of light being an average over multi-fractals, we use Magueijo-Smolin’s ingenious revision of Einstein’s special relativity famous formula E = mc2 to a doubly special formula which includes the Planck energy as invariant to derive the ordinary energy density E(O) = mc2/22 and the dark energy density E(D) = mc2(21/22) wheremis the mass andcis the speed of light. Second we use the topological theory of pure gravity to reach the same result thus confirming the correctness of the theory of varying speed of light as well as the COBE, WMAP and Type 1a supernova cosmological measurements.

Four-point functions of the stress tensor and conserved currents inAdS4/CFT3

We compute four point functions of the stress tensor and conserved currents in AdS_4/CFT_3 using bulk perturbation theory. We work at treel level in the bulk theory, which we take to be either pure gravity or Yang Mills theory in AdS. We bypass the tedious evaluation of Witten diagrams using recently developed recursion relations for these correlators. In this approach, the four point function is obtained as the sum of residues of a rational function at easily identifiable poles. We write down an explicit formula for the four point correlator with arbitrary external helicities and momenta. We verify that, precisely as conjectured in a companion paper, the Maximally Helicity Violating (MHV) amplitude of gravitons or gluons appears as the coefficient of a specified singularity in the MHV stress-tensor or current correlator. We comment on the remarkably simple analytic structure of our answers in momentum space.

Coupling shape dynamics to matter gives spacetime

Shape Dynamics is a metric theory of pure gravity, equivalent to General Relativity, but formulated as a gauge theory of spatial diffeomporphisms and local spatial conformal transformations. In this paper we extend the construction of Shape Dynamics form pure gravity to gravity-matter systems and find that there is no obstruction for the coupling of gravity to standard matter. We use the matter gravity system to construct a clock and rod model for Shape Dynamics which allows us to recover a spacetime interpretation of Shape Dynamics trajectories.