A new class of conformal field theories is presented, where the background gravitational field is conformally flat. Conformally flat (CF) spacetimes enjoy conformal properties quite similar to the ones of flat spacetime. The conformal isometry group is of maximal rank and the conformal Killing vectors in conformally flat coordinates are {\em exactly} the same as the ones of flat spacetime. In this work, a new concept of distance is introduced, the {\em conformal distance}, which transforms covariantly under all conformal isometries of the CF space. It is shown that precisely for CF spacetimes, an adequate power of the said conformal distance is a solution of the non-minimal d'Alembert equation.
We show that time intervals of width $Δτ$ in 3-dimensional conformal field theories (CFT$_3$) on the Lorentzian cylinder admit an infinite dimensional symmetry enhancement in the limit $Δτ\rightarrow 0$. The associated vector fields are approximate solutions to the conformal Killing equations in the strip labelled by a function and a conformal Killing vector on the sphere. An Inonu-Wigner contraction yields a set of symmetry generators obeying the extended BMS$_4$ algebra. We analyze the shadow stress tensor Ward identities in CFT$_d$ on the Lorentzian cylinder with all operator insertions in …
Two and three-point functions of primary fields in four dimensional CFT have a simple space-time dependences factored out from the combinatoric structure which enumerates the fields and gives their couplings. This has led to the formulation of two dimensional topological field theories with $so(4,2)$ equivariance which are conjectured to be equivalent to higher dimensional conformal field theories. We review this CFT4/TFT2 construction in the simplest possible setting of a free scalar field, which gives an algebraic construction of the correlators in terms of an infinite dimensional $so(4,2)$ …
We present two examples of non-trivial field theories which are scale invariant, but not conformally invariant. This is done by placing certain field theories, which are conformally invariant in flat space, onto curved backgrounds of a specific type. We define this using the AdS/CFT correspondence, which relates the physics of gravity in asymptotically Anti-de Sitter (AdS) spacetimes to that of a conformal field theory (CFT) in one dimension fewer. The AdS rotating (Kerr) black holes in five and seven dimensions provide us with the examples, since by the correspondence we are able to define an…
We construct an anti-de-Sitter (AdS) geometry from a conformal field theory (CFT) defined on a general conformally flat manifold via a flow equation associated with the curved manifold, which we refer to as the primary flow equation. We explicitly show that the induced metric associated with the primary flow equation becomes AdS whose boundary is the curved manifold. Interestingly, it turns out that such an AdS metric with conformally flat boundary is obtained from the usual Poincare AdS by a simple bulk diffeomorphism transformation. We also demonstrate that the emergence of such an AdS space…
Celestial diamonds encode the structure of global conformal multiplets in 2D celestial CFT and offer a natural language for describing the conformally soft sector. The operators appearing at their left and right corners give rise to conformally soft factorization theorems, the bottom corners correspond to conserved charges, and the top corners to conformal dressings. We show that conformally soft charges can be expressed in terms of light ray integrals that select modes of the appropriate conformal weights. They reside at the bottom corners of memory diamonds, and ascend to generalized current…
We study the compatibility of the AdS/CFT duality with the bulk and boundary causality, and derive a conformally invariant averaged null energy condition (CANEC) for quantum field theories in 3 and 5-dimensional curved boundaries. This is the generalization of the averaged null energy condition (ANEC) in Minkowski spacetime to curved boundaries, where null energy is averaged along the null line with appropriate weight for conformal invariance. For this purpose we take, as our guiding principle, the no-bulk-shortcut theorem of Gao and Wald, which essentially asserts that when going from one poi…
In this note we present a simple method of constructing general conformally invariant three point functions of operators of various spins in three dimensions. Upon further imposing current conservation conditions, we find new parity violating structures for the three point functions involving either the stress-energy tensor, spin one currents, or higher spin currents. We find that all parity preserving structures for conformally invariant three point functions of higher spin conserved currents can be realized by free fields, whereas there is at most one parity violating structure for three poi…
We show that for non-conformally flat bulk spacetime, there exist no bound modes for zero mass graviton on the 3-brane. The brane world model is therefore unstable for the bulk spacetime being different from the conformally flat anti - de Sitter space.
We investigate the recently proposed Kerr/CFT correspondence in the context of rotating spacetimes with a NUT twist. The Kerr/CFT correspondence states that the near-horizon states of an extremal four (or higher) dimensional black hole could be identified with a certain chiral conformal field theory. The corresponding Virasoro algebra is generated with a class of diffeomorphism which preserves an appropriate boundary condition on the near-horizon geometry. We try to understand the analog of singularities in the context of dual chiral CFT. Explicitly, we use Kerr/CFT correspondence to show that…
We solve Klein-Gordon equation for massless scalars on d+1 dimensional Minkowski (Euclidean) space in terms of the Cauchy data on the hypersurface t=0. By inserting the solution into the action of massless scalars in Minkowski (Euclidean) space we obtain the action of dual theory on the boundary t=0 which is exactly the holographic dual of conformally coupled scalars on d+1 dimensional (Euclidean anti) de Sitter space obtained in (A)dS/CFT correspondence. The observed equivalence of dual theories is explained using the one-to-one map between conformally coupled scalar fields on Minkowski (Eucl…
We show that the averaged null energy condition can be violated by a conformally coupled scalar field in a conformally flat spacetime in 3+1 dimensions. The violation is dependent on the quantum state and can be made as large as desired. It does not arise from the presence of anomalies, although anomalous violations are also possible. Since all geodesics in conformally flat spacetimes are achronal, the achronal averaged null energy condition is likewise violated.
We analyze the conformal invariance of submanifold observables associated with $k$-branes in the AdS/CFT correspondence. For odd $k$, the resulting observables are conformally invariant, and for even $k$, they transform with a conformal anomaly that is given by a local expression which we analyze in detail for $k=2$
The energy-momentum tensor for a massless conformally coupled scalar field in de Sitter spacetime in the presence of a couple curved branes is investigated. We assume that the scalar field satisfies the Robin boundary condition on the surfaces. Static de Sitter space is conformally related to the Rindler space, as a result we can obtain vacuum expectation values of energy-momentum tensor for conformally invariant field in static de Sitter space from the corresponding Rindler counterpart by the conformal transformation.
We present analytic methods for extracting a class of bulk geometries given information of certain physical quantities in the boundary CFT. More specifically we look at singular correlators and entanglement entropy in the CFT to provide information of null and spacelike geodesics repectively in the bulk. We show that static spherically symmetric, asymptotically AdS spacetimes which do not admit null circular orbits can be fully recovered, and that any spacetime can be recovered up to the local maximum of the potential. We provide analytical and numerical examples to verify the methods used.
Using a Hamiltonian approach to gauged WZW models, we present a general method for computing the conformally exact metric and dilaton, to all orders in the $1/k$ expansion, for any bosonic, heterotic, or type-II superstring model based on a coset $G/H$. We prove the following relations: (i) For type-II superstrings the conformally exact metric and dilaton are identical to those of the non-supersymmetric {\it semi-classical} bosonic model except for an overall renormalization of the metric obtained by $k\to k- g$. (ii) The exact expressions for the heterotic superstring are derived from their e…
We define and study asymptotic Killing and conformal Killing vectors in $d$-dimensional Minkowski, (A)dS, $\mathbb{R}\times S^{d-1}$ and ${\rm AdS}_2\times S^{d-2}$. We construct the associated quantum charges for an arbitrary CFT and show they satisfy a closed algebra that includes the BMS as a sub-algebra (i.e. supertranslations and superrotations) plus a novel transformation we call `superdilations'. We study representations of this algebra in the Hilbert space of the CFT, as well as the action of the finite transformations obtained by exponentiating the charges. In the context of the AdS/C…
We compute the boundary stress-energies of time-dependent asymptotically AdS spacetimes in 5 and 7 dimensions, and find that their traces are equal to the respective 4 and 6 dimensional field-theoretic trace anomalies. This provides good supporting evidence in favour of the AdS/CFT correspondence in time-dependent backgrounds.
The energy-momentum tensor for a massless conformally coupled scalar field in the region between two curved boundaries in $k=-1$ static Robertson--Walker spacetime is investigated. We assume that the scalar field satisfies the Dirichlet boundary condition on the boundaries. $k=-1$ Robertson--Walker space is conformally related to the Rindler space, as a result we can obtain vacuum expectation values of energy-momentum tensor for conformally invariant field in Robertson--Walker space from the corresponding Rindler counterpart by the conformal transformation.
The central object in the theory of semiclassical stochastic gravity is the noise kernel which is the symmetric two point correlation function of the stress-energy tensor. Using the corresponding Wightman functions in Minkowski, Einstein and open Einstein spaces, we construct the noise kernels of a conformally coupled scalar field in these spacetimes. From them we show that the noise kernels in conformally-flat spacetimes, including the Friedmann-Robertson-Walker universes, can be obtained in closed analytic forms by using a combination of conformal and coordindate transformations.
Solution generating techniques for general relativity with a conformally (and minimally) coupled scalar field are pushed forward to build a wide class of asymptotically flat, axisymmetric and stationary spacetimes continuously connected to Kerr. This family contains, amongst other things, rotating extensions of the Bekenstein black hole and also its angular and mass multipolar generalisations. Further addition of NUT charge is also discussed.
We demonstrate separability of conformally coupled scalar field equation in general (off-shell) Kerr-NUT-AdS spacetimes in all dimensions. The separability is intrinsically characterized by the existence of a complete set of mutually commuting conformal wave operators that can be constructed from a hidden symmetry of the principal Killing-Yano tensor. By token of conformal symmetry, the separability also works for any Weyl rescaled (off-shell) metrics. This is especially interesting in four dimensions where it guarantees separability of a conformally coupled scalar field in the general Plebans…
The AdS/CFT conjecture relates quantum gravity on Anti-de Sitter (AdS) space to a conformal field theory (CFT) defined on the spacetime boundary. We interpret the CFT in terms of natural analogues of the bulk S-matrix. Our first approach finds the bulk S-matrix as a limit of scattering from an AdS bubble immersed in a space admitting asymptotic states. Next, we show how the periodicity of geodesics obstructs a standard LSZ prescription for scattering within global AdS. To avoid this subtlety we partition global AdS into patches within which CFT correlators reconstruct transition amplitudes of …
Tensor networks give simple representations of complex quantum states. They have proven useful in the study of condensed matter systems and conformal fields, and recently have provided toy models of AdS/CFT. Underlying the tensor network - AdS/CFT connection is the association of a graph geometry with the tensor network. In the context of the AdS/CFT correspondence tensor network models have so far been limited to describing static spacetimes. In this thesis we look to extend tensor network models of AdS/CFT by describing the geometry of a dynamic spacetime using a tensor network. We provide a…
A 0+1-dimensional candidate theory for the CFT$_1$ dual to AdS$_2$ is discussed. The quantum mechanical system does not have a ground state that is invariant under the three generators of the conformal group. Nevertheless, we show that there are operators in the theory that are not primary, but whose "non-primary character" conspires with the "non-invariance of the vacuum" to give precisely the correlation functions in a conformally invariant theory.
The general metric for conformally flat stationary cyclic symmetric noncircular spacetimes is explicitly given. In spite of the complexity introduced by the inclusion of noncircular contributions, the related metric is derived via the full integration of the conformal flatness constraints. It is also shown that the conditions for the existence of a rotation axis (axisymmetry) are the same ones which restrict the above class of spacetimes to be static. As a consequence, a known theorem by Collinson is just part of a more general result: any conformally flat stationary cyclic symmetric spacetime…
We prove a nonperturbative duality concerning the dynamics of harmonic-oscillator-type Unruh-DeWitt detectors in curved spacetimes. Concretely, using the Takagi transformation we show that the action of a harmonic oscillator Unruh-DeWitt detector with one frequency in a spacetime is equal to that of a detector with a different frequency in a conformally related spacetime. As an example, we show that the dynamics of simple stationary detectors in flat spacetime is dual to that of detectors in a cosmological scenario. The nonperturbative duality enables us to investigate entanglement harvesting …
We discuss the relation between bulk de Sitter three-dimensional spacetime and the corresponding conformal field theory at the boundary, in the framework of the exact quasinormal mode spectrum. We show that the quasinormal mode spectrum corresponds exactly to the spectrum of thermal excitations of Conformal Field Theory at the past boundary I^-, together with the spectrum of the Conformal Field Theory at the future boundary I^+.
Gravity in d dimensions is formulated as the gauge theory of local SO(2,d-1) gauge group. The Chern-Pontryagin index ${\cal P}_{2n}$ plays a crucial role in both gravity and gauge theories. ${\cal P}_{2n}(gravity)$ gives the gravitational Lagrangian in 2n dimensions, having the vacuum solution $AdS_{2n}$. The same but global symmetry is shared with the gauge theories and 0,1-cochains of the Chern-Simon index ${\cal C}_{2n}(gauge)$ take part of $CFT_{2n-1}$ and $CFT_{2n-2}$, respectively. Gravity in odd dimensions is quite analogously formulated to that in even dimensions. This gives new insigh…
The special conformal transformation (composed by inversion - translation - inversion) is used to generate a time dependent conformally flat spacetime. In order to be an exact solution of Einstein's equations, we need as a source a stress tensor corresponding to an anisotropic fluid with negative regular energy density and positive pressures. For the static approximation, the generators of the infinitesimal transformation resemble those recently obtained by Majhi and Padmanabhan for the coordinate transformation leading to the "near horizon" Schwarzschild metric in Kruskal coordinates. The sta…
We apply our previous work on Green's functions for the four-dimensional quaternionic Taub-NUT manifold to obtain a scalar two-point function on the homogeneously squashed three-sphere (otherwise known as the Berger sphere), which lies at its conformal infinity. Using basic notions from conformal geometry and the theory of boundary value problems, in particular the Dirichlet-to-Robin operator, we establish that our two-point correlation function is conformally invariant and corresponds to a boundary operator of conformal dimension one. It is plausible that the methods we use could have more ge…
Using the AdS/CFT correspondence, we show that the Anti-de Sitter (AdS) rotating (Kerr) black holes in five and seven dimensions provide us with examples of non-trivial field theories which are scale, but not conformally invariant. This is demonstrated by our computation of the actions and the stress-energy tensors of the four and six dimensional field theories residing on the boundary of these Kerr-AdS black holes spacetimes.
We study a higher order conformally coupled scalar tensor theory endowed with a covariant geometric constraint relating the scalar curvature with the Gauss-Bonnet scalar. It is a particular Horndeski theory including a canonical kinetic term but without shift or parity symmetry for the scalar. The theory also stems from a Kaluza-Klein reduction of a well defined higher dimensional metric theory. Properties of an asymptotically flat spherically symmetric black hole are analyzed, and new slowly rotating and radiating extensions are found. Through disformal transformations of the static configura…
We provide a unified treatment of conformally soft Goldstone modes which arise when spin-one or spin-two conformal primary wavefunctions become pure gauge for certain integer values of the conformal dimension $Δ$. This effort lands us at the crossroads of two ongoing debates about what the appropriate conformal basis for celestial CFT is and what the asymptotic symmetry group of Einstein gravity at null infinity should be. Finite energy wavefunctions are captured by the principal continuous series $Δ\in 1+i\mathbb{R}$ and form a complete basis. We show that conformal primaries with analyticall…
We study various derivations of Hawking radiation in conformally rescaled metrics. We focus on two important properties, the location of the horizon under a conformal transformation and its associated temperature. We find that the production of Hawking radiation cannot be associated in all cases to the trapping horizon because its location is not invariant under a conformal transformation. We also find evidence that the temperature of the Hawking radiation should transform simply under a conformal transformation, being invariant for asymptotic observers in the limit that the conformal transfor…
We summarize recent results on $D$-dimensional Robinson-Trautman solutions of Einstein's gravity in the presence of a conformally invariant non-linear electromagnetic field and a cosmological constant. These spacetimes contain static dyonic black holes with various horizon geometries and their time-dependent radiating generalizations, as well as a class of stealth solutions. Extensions to $f(R)$ and Gauss-Bonnet gravity are mentioned.
We investigate de Sitter/conformal field theory (dS/CFT) correspondence in two dimensions. We define the conserved mass of de Sitter spacetime and formulate the correspondence along the lines of anti-de Sitter/conformal field theory duality. Asymptotic symmetry group, mass, and central charge of de Sitter spacetime are equal to those of anti-de Sitter spacetime. The entropy of two-dimensional de Sitter spacetime is evaluated by applying Cardy formula. We calculate the boundary correlators induced by the propagation of the dilaton in two-dimensional de Sitter space. Although the dilaton is a ta…
Conformally invariant GUT-like model including gravity based on Riemann - Cartan space-time $U_4$ is considered. Cosmological scenario that follows from the model is discussed and standard quantum gravitational formalism in the Arnowitt-Deser-Misner form is developed. General formalism is then illustrated on Bianchi-IX minisuperspace cosmological model. Wave functions of the universe in the de Sitter minisuperspace model with Vilenkin and Hartle-Hawking boundary conditions are considered and corresponding probability distributions for the scalar field values are calculated.
We study the three dimensional Einstein gravity conformally coupled to a scalar field. Solutions of this theory are geometries with vanishing scalar curvature. We consider solutions with a constant scalar field which corresponds to an infinite Newton's constant. There is a class of solutions with possible curvature singularities which asymptotic symmetries are given by two copies of the Virasoro algebra. We argue that the central charge of the corresponding CFT is infinite. Furthermore, we construct a family of Schwarzschild solutions which can be conformally mapped to the Martinez-Zanelli sol…
Solutions to the Yang-Mills field equations which describe exploding or imploding shells of gauge field and which may serve as approximations to the exploding sphaleron are discussed. The solutions are conformally related to $SO(2)\times SO(4)$ invariant Yang-Mills solutions. The behavior of fermions in the gauge field background and higher gauge groups are also considered.
We study the action of the CFT total modular Hamiltonian on the CFT representation of bulk fields with spin. In the vacuum of the CFT the total modular Hamiltonian acts as a bulk Lie derivative, reducing on the RT surface to a boost perpendicular to the RT surface. This enables us to reconstruct bulk fields with spin from the CFT. On fields with gauge redundancies the total modular Hamiltonian acts as a bulk Lie derivative together with a compensating bulk gauge (or diffeomorphism) transformation to restore the original gauge. We consider the Lie algebra generated by the total modular Hamilton…
In the first part of the paper, we discuss different versions of the AdS/CFT dictionary out of equilibrium. We show that the Skenderis - van Rees prescription and the "extrapolate" dictionary are equivalent at the level of "in-in" two point functions of free scalar fields in arbitrary asymptotically AdS spacetimes. In the second part of the paper, we calculate two point correlation functions in dynamical spacetimes using the "extrapolate" dictionary. These calculations are performed for conformally coupled scalar fields in examples of spacetimes undergoing gravitational collapse, the AdS$_2$-V…
We discuss general multidimensional axion-dilatonic AdS gravity which may correspond to bosonic sector of Gibbons-Green-Perry (compactified) IIB supergravity with RR-scalar (axion). Using AdS/CFT correspondence the 4d conformal anomaly on axion-dilaton-gravitational background is found from SG side. It is shown that for IIB SG with axion such conformal anomaly coincides with the one obtained from QFT calculation in ${\cal N}=4$ super Yang-Mills theory conformally coupled with ${\cal N}=4$ conformal SG. Brief discussion on possibility to apply these results for gauged SGs is also presented.
We consider the entanglement entropy in the dS/CFT correspondence.In Einstein gravity on de Sitter spacetime we propose the holographic entanglement entropy as the analytic continuation of the extremal surface in Euclidean anti-de Sitter spacetime.Even though dual conformal field theories for Einstein gravity on de Sitter spacetime have not been known yet,we analyzed the free $Sp(N)$ model dual to Vasiliev's higher spin gauge theory as a toy model.In this model we confirmed the behaviour similar to our holographic result from Einstein gravity.
A conformally invariant theory of Majorana fermions in 2<d<4 with O(N) symmetry is studied using Operator Product Expansions and consistency relations based on the cancellation of shadow singularities. The critical coupling G_{*} of the theory is calculated to leading order in 1/N. This value is then used to reproduce the O(1/N) correction for the anomalous dimension of the fermion field as evidence for the validity of our approach to conformal field theory in d>2.
We consider the Kerr-de Sitter (Kerr-dS) black hole in various dimensions. Introducing a counterterm, we show that the total action of these spacetimes are finite. We compute the masses and the angular momenta of Kerr-dS spaces with one rotational parameter in four, five and seven dimensions. These conserved charges are also computed for the case of Kerr-dS space with two rotational parameters in five dimensions. Although the angular momentum density due to the counterterm is nonzero, it gives a vanishing contribution to the total angular momentum. We also find that the total angular momentum …
We present exact dynamical and inhomogeneous solutions in three-dimensional AdS gravity with a conformally coupled scalar field. They contain stealth configurations of the scalar field overflying the BTZ spacetime and also solutions with a non-vanishing energy-momentum tensor. The latter non-stealth class consists of the solution obtained by Xu and its analytic extension. It is shown that this proper extension represents: (i) an eternally shrinking dynamical black hole, (ii) a curious spacetime which admits an event horizon without any trapped surface, or (iii) gravitational collapse of a scal…
We prove that semiclassical gravity in conformally static, globally hyperbolic spacetimes with a massless, conformally coupled Klein-Gordon field is well posed, when viewed as a coupled theory for the dynamical conformal factor of the metric and the Klein-Gordon theory. Namely, it admits unique and stable solutions whenever constrained fourth-order initial data for the conformal factor and suitably defined Hadamard initial data for the Klein-Gordon state are provided on a spacelike Cauchy surface. As no spacetime symmetries are imposed on the conformal factor, the present result implies that, …
We discuss universal properties of conformal field theories with holographic duals. A central feature of these theories is the existence of a low-lying sector of operators whose correlators factorize. We demonstrate that factorization can only hold in the large central charge limit. Using conformal invariance and factorization we argue that these operators are naturally represented as fields in AdS as this makes the underlying linearity of the system manifest. In this class of CFTs the solution of the conformal bootstrap conditions can be naturally organized in structures which coincide with W…
We start by observing that the light-ray operators featured in the conformal collider literature are celestial primaries. This allows us to rephrase the corresponding 4D CFT correlators as probing a conformally soft matter sector of the 2D celestial CFT (CCFT). To demonstrate the utility of this perspective we show how the recent $w_{1+\infty}$ symmetry observed in CCFT suggests a natural extension of the conformal collider operators.
We consider the quasilocal thermodynamics of rotating black holes in asymptotic de Sitter spacetimes. Using the minimal number of intrinsic boundary counterterms, we carry out an analysis of the quasilocal thermodynamics of Kerr-de Sitter black holes for virtually all possible values of the mass, rotation parameter and cosmological constant that leave the quasilocal boundary inside the cosmological event horizon. Specifically, we compute the quasilocal energy, the conserved charges, the temperature and the heat capacity for the $(3+1)$-dimensional Kerr-dS black holes. We perform a quasilocal s…
We compute the conformal anomalies of boundary CFTs for scalar and fermionic fields propagating in AdS spacetime at one-loop. The coefficients are quantized, with values related to the mass-spectra for Kaluza-Klein compactifications of Supergravity on AdS5xS5 and AdS7xS4. Our approach interprets the boundary partition function of fields propagating on AdS spacetime in terms of wave-functionals that satisfy the functional Schrodinger equation.
We develop a formalism to calculate the effective action of the strongly coupled conformal field theory (CFT) in curved spacetime. The effective action of the CFT is obtained from AdS/CFT correspondence. The anti de-Sitter (AdS) spacetime has various slicing which give various curved spacetime on its boundary. We show the de Sitter spacetime and the Friedmann-Robertson-Walker (FRW) universe can be embedded in the AdS spacetime and derive the scalar two-point function of the conformal fields in those spacetime. In curved spacetime, the two-point function depends on the vacuum state of the CFT. …
This is the second of three papers on Conformal General Relativity (CGR). The conformal group is introduced here as the invariance group of the partial order of causal events in $n$D spacetime. Its general structure, discrete symmetries and field representations are described in detail. The spontaneous breakdown of conformal symmetry is then discussed and the role played by a ghost scalar field and a physical scalar field in 4D spacetime are evidenced. Kinematic--, conformal-- and proper--time hyperbolic coordinates are introduced in a negatively curved Milne spacetime for the purpose of provi…
