Correlators of unitary quantum field theories in Lorentzian signature obey certain analyticity and positivity properties. For interacting unitary CFTs in more than two dimensions, we show that these properties impose general constraints on families of minimal twist operators that appear in the OPEs of primary operators. In particular, we rederive and extend the convexity theorem which states that for the family of minimal twist operators with even spins appearing in the reflection-symmetric OPE of any scalar primary, twist must be a monotonically increasing convex function of the spin. Our argument is completely non-perturbative and it also applies to the OPE of nonidentical scalar primaries in unitary CFTs, constraining the twist of spinning operators appearing in the OPE. Finally, we argue that the same methods also impose constraints on the Regge behavior of certain CFT correlators.
The off-cone Compton operator of twist-2 is Fourier transformed using a general procedure which is applicable, in principle, to any QCD tensor operator of definite (geometric) twist. That method allows, after taking the non-forward matrix elements, to separate quite effectively their imaginary part and to reveal some hidden structure in terms of appropriately defined variables, including generalized Nachtmann variables. In this way, without using the equations of motion, generalizations of the Wandzura-Wilzcek relation and of the mass-corrected Callan-Gross relation to the non-forward scatteri…
We discuss the concept of composite fields in flat CFT as well as in the context of AdS/CFT. Furthermore we show how to represent Green functions using generalized hypergeometric functions and apply these techniques to four-point functions. Finally we prove an identity of $U(1)_Y$ symmetry for four-point functions.
We present an analytic way of writing simple crossing symmetric expressions and use them to search for unitary 4-point functions in 2D CFTs. We've applied our method for a class of functions we called generalized polynomials to achieve large gaps for operators with integer scaling dimension less or equal to 18.
We study a refined large spin limit for twist operators in the sl(2) sector of AdS/CFT. We derive a novel non-perturbative equation for the generalized two-parameter scaling function associated to this limit, and analyze it at weak coupling. It is expected to smoothly interpolate between weakly coupled gauge theory and string theory at strong coupling.
In this paper we discuss behaviors of entanglement entropy between two interacting CFTs and its holographic interpretation using the AdS/CFT correspondence. We explicitly perform analytical calculations of entanglement entropy between two free scalar field theories which are interacting with each other in both static and time-dependent ways. We also conjecture a holographic calculation of entanglement entropy between two interacting $\mathcal{N}=4$ super Yang-Mills theories by introducing a minimal surface in the S$^5$ direction, instead of the AdS$_5$ direction. This offers a possible general…
The large N behavior of Matrix theory is discussed on the basis of the previously proposed generalized conformal symmetry. The concept of `oblique' AdS/CFT correspondence, in which the conformal symmetry involves both the space-time coordinates and the string coupling constant, is proposed. Based on the explicit predictions for two-point correlators, possible implications for the Matrix-theory conjecture are discussed.
The electrovac axisymmetric extreme isolated horizon/CFT correspondence is considered. By expansion techniques under the Bondi-like coordinates, it is proved that the near horizon geometry of electrovac axisymmetric extreme isolated horizon is unique. Furthermore, explicit coordinate transformation between the Bondi-like coordinates and the Poincare-type coordinates for the near horizon metric of the extreme Kerr-Newmann spacetime is found. Based on these analyses and the thermodynamics of the isolated horizon, then, the Kerr/CFT correspondence is generalized to nonstationary extreme black hol…
Planar N=4 SYM theory and QCD share the gluon sector, suggesting the investigation of Gribov-Lipatov reciprocity in the supersymmetric theory. Since the AdS/CFT correspondence links N=4 SYM and superstring dynamics on AdS5xS5, reciprocity is also expected to show up in the quantum corrected energies of certain classical string configurations dual to gauge theory twist-operators. We review recent results confirming this picture and revisiting the old idea of Gribov-Lipatov reciprocity as a modern theoretical tool useful for the study of open problems in AdS/CFT.
We study the Feynman graph structure and compute certain exact four-point correlation functions in chiral CFT$_4$ proposed by Ö.Gürdoğan and one of the authors as a double scaling limit of $γ$-deformed $\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM theory. We give full description of bulk behavior of large Feynman graphs: it shows a generalized "dynamical fishnet" structure, with a dynamical exchange of bosonic and Yukawa couplings. We compute certain four-point correlators in the full chiral CFT$_4$, generalizing recent results for a particular one-coupling version of this theory -- the bi-scalar "fishnet" CFT. We sum …
Motivated by structural issues in the AdS-CFT correspondence, the theory of generalized free fields is reconsidered. A stress-energy tensor for the generalized free field is constructed as a limit of Wightman fields. Although this limit is singular, it fulfils the requirements of a conserved local density for the Poincar'e generators. An explicit "holographic" formula relating the Klein-Gordon field on AdS to generalized free fields on Minkowski space-time is provided, and contrasted with the "algebraic" notion of holography. A simple relation between the singular stress-energy tensor and the …
We discuss partition function of 2d CFTs decorated by higher qKdV charges in the thermodynamic limit when the size of the spatial circle goes to infinity. In this limit the saddle point approximation is exact and at infinite central charge generalized partition function can be calculated explicitly. We show that leading 1/c corrections to free energy can be reformulated as a sum over Young tableaux which we calculate for the first two qKdV charges. Next, we compare generalized ensemble with the "eigenstate ensemble" that consists of a single primary state. At infinite central charge the ensemb…
Infinite-dimensional conformal symmetry in two dimensions leads to integrability of 2d conformal field theories through an infinite tower of local conserved qKdV charges in involution. We discuss the role this integrable structure plays in equilibration of 2d CFTs. We show that in the thermodynamic limit large central charge 2d CFTs satisfy generalized eigenstate thermalization, with the values of qKdV charges forming a complete set of thermodynamically relevant quantities, which unambiguously determine expectation values of all local observables from the vacuum family. Our work settles the qu…
We construct a family of vector fields that generate local symmetries in the solution space of low frequency massless field perturbations in the general Kerr geometry. This yields a one-parameter family of SL(2,R)x SL(2,R) algebras. We identify limits in which the SL(2,R)xSL(2,R) algebra contracts to an SL(2,R) symmetry of the Schwarzschild background. We note that for a particular value of our new free parameter, the symmetry algebra generates the quasinormal mode spectrum of a Kerr black hole in the large damping limit, suggesting a connection between the hidden conformal symmetry and a fund…
We investigate Matrix theory in the large-N limit following the conjectured correspondence between Matrix theory and supergravity on the near-horizon limit of the D0-brane background. We analyze the complete fermionic spectrum of supergravity and obtain two-point functions of the supercurrents in Matrix theory. By examining the large-N scaling properties of the correlators, we discuss the consistency of the 11-dimensional interpretation of the supersymmetry of Matrix theory.
Two-dimensional CFTs have an infinite set of commuting conserved charges, known as the quantum KdV charges. We study the Generalized Gibbs Ensemble with chemical potentials for these charges at high temperature. In a large central charge limit, the partition function can be computed in a saddle-point approximation. We compare the ensemble values of the KdV charges to the values in a microstate, and find that they match irrespective of the values of the chemical potentials. We study the partition function at finite central charge perturbatively in the chemical potentials, and find that this deg…
We study real-time correlators in the Kerr/CFT correspondence. The near-horizon geometry of extreme and near-extremal Kerr black holes can be taken as warped spacetimes with the warping factors depending on the transverse radius and the angular variable. By considering the Kerr/CFT correspondence as a generalized warped AdS/CFT correspondence, we show how to compute the CFT real-time correlation functions. We find that the retarded Green's functions, the cross sections and the quasi-normal modes are all in perfect match with the predictions of the dual CFT. The same analysis is also generalize…
In this talk we present a family of Wilson loop operators which continuously interpolates between the 1/2 BPS line and the antiparallel lines, and can be thought of as calculating a generalization of the quark--antiquark potential for the gauge theory on S^3 x R. We evaluate the first two orders of these loops perturbatively both in the gauge and string theory. We obtain analytical expressions in a systematic expansion around the 1/2 BPS configuration, and comment on possible all-loop patterns for these Wilson loops.
We discuss generalized partition function of 2d CFTs decorated by higher qKdV charges on thermal cylinder. We propose that in the large central charge limit qKdV charges factorize such that generalized partition function can be rewritten in terms of auxiliary non-interacting bosons. The explicit expression for the generalized free energy is readily available in terms of the boson spectrum, which can be deduced from the conventional thermal expectation values of qKdV charges. In other words, the picture of the auxiliary non-interacting bosons allows extending thermal one-point functions to the …
We show that multi-trace interactions can be consistently incorporated into an extended AdS/CFT prescription involving the inclusion of generalized boundary conditions and a modified Legendre transform prescription. We find new and consistent results by considering a self-contained formulation which relates the quantization of the bulk theory to the AdS/CFT correspondence and the perturbation at the boundary by double-trace interactions. We show that there exist particular double-trace perturbations for which irregular modes are allowed to propagate as well as the regular ones. We perform a de…
We point out that there is a simple variant of the SYK model, which we call cSYK, that is $SL(2,R)$ invariant for all values of the coupling. The modification consists of replacing the UV part of the SYK action with a quadratic bilocal term. The corresponding bulk dual is a non-gravitational theory in a rigid AdS$_2$ background. At weak coupling cSYK is a generalized free field theory; at strong coupling, it approaches the infrared of SYK. The existence of this line of fixed points explains the previously found connection between the three-point function of bilinears in these two theories at l…
In two spacetime dimensions the Virasoro heavy-heavy-light-light (HHLL) vacuum block in a certain limit is governed by the Catalan numbers. The equation for their generating function can be generalized to a differential equation which the logarithm of the block satisfies. We show that a similar story holds for the HHLL ${\cal W}_N$ vacuum blocks, where a suitable generalization of the Catalan numbers plays the main role. Moreover, the ${\cal W}_N$ blocks have the same form as the stress tensor sector of HHLL near lightcone conformal correlators in $2(N-1)$ spacetime dimensions. In the latter c…
We argue that the thermodynamics of conformal field theories with AdS duals exhibits a remarkable universality. At strong coupling, a Cardy-Verlinde entropy formula holds even when R-charges or bulk supergravity scalars are turned on. In such a setting, the Casimir entropy can be identified with a generalized C-function that changes monotonically with temperature as well as when non-trivial bulk scalar fields are introduced. We generalize the Cardy-Verlinde formula to cases where no subextensive part of the energy is present and further observe that such a formula is valid for the N=4 super Ya…
I review the relationship between AdS/CFT (anti-de Sitter / conformal field theory) dualities and the general theory of unitary lowest weight (ULWR) (positive energy) representations of non-compact space-time groups and supergroups. The ULWR's have the remarkable property that they can be constructed by tensoring some fundamental ULWR's (singletons or doubletons). Furthermore, one can go from the manifestly unitary compact basis of the ULWR's of the conformal group (Wigner picture) to the manifestly covariant coherent state basis (Dirac picture) labelled by the space-time coordinates. Hence ev…
We study the general structure of the AdS_5/CFT_4 correspondence in type IIB string theory from the perspective of generalized geometry. We begin by defining a notion of "generalized Sasakian geometry," which consists of a contact structure together with a differential system for three symplectic forms on the four-dimensional transverse space to the Reeb vector field. A generalized Sasakian manifold which satisfies an additional "Einstein" condition provides a general supersymmetric AdS_5 solution of type IIB supergravity with fluxes. We then show that the supergravity action restricted to a s…
We consider a brane universe in a Reissner-Nordstrom-de Sitter background spacetime of arbitrary dimensionality. It is shown that the brane evolution is described by generalized Friedmann equations for radiative matter along with a stiff-matter contribution. On the basis of the (conjectured) dS/CFT correspondence, we identify various thermodynamic properties of the brane. It is then demonstrated that, when the brane crosses the de Sitter cosmological horizon, the CFT thermodynamics and Friedmann-like equations coincide. Moreover, the CFT entropy is shown to be expressible in a generalized Card…
We study a duality, recently conjectured by Klebanov and Polyakov, between higher-spin theories on AdS_4 and O(N) vector models in 3-d. These theories are free in the UV and interacting in the IR. At the UV fixed point, the O(N) model has an infinite number of higher-spin conserved currents. In the IR, these currents are no longer conserved for spin s>2. In this paper, we show that the dual interpretation of this fact is that all fields of spin s>2 in AdS_4 become massive by a Higgs mechanism, that leaves the spin-2 field massless. We identify the Higgs field and show how it relates to the RG …
Guided by the generalized conformal symmetry, we investigate the extension of AdS-CFT correspondence to the matrix model of D-particles in the large N limit. We perform a complete harmonic analysis of the bosonic linearized fluctuations around a heavy D-particle background in IIA supergravity in 10 dimensions and find that the spectrum precisely agrees with that of the physical operators of Matrix theory. The explicit forms of two-point functions give predictions for the large $N$ behavior of Matrix theory with some special cutoff. We discuss the possible implications of our results for the la…
We introduce and study generalized Rényi entropies defined through the traces of products of ${\rm Tr}_B (|Ψ_i\rangle\langle Ψ_j|)$ where $|Ψ_i\rangle$ are eigenstates of a two-dimensional conformal field theory (CFT). When $|Ψ_i\rangle=|Ψ_j\rangle$ these objects reduce to the standard Rényi entropies of the eigenstates of the CFT. Exploiting the path integral formalism, we show that the second generalized Rényi entropies are equivalent to four-point correlators. We then focus on a free bosonic theory for which the mode expansion of the fields allows us to develop an efficient strategy to comp…
Using $Γ_{\pm}(z) $ vertex operators of the $c=1$ two dimensional conformal field theory, we give a 2d-quantum field theoretical derivation of the conjectured d- dimensional MacMahon function G$_{d}(q) $. We interpret this function G$_{d}(q) $ as a $(d+1) $- point correlation function $\mathcal{G}_{d+1}(z_{0},...,z_{d}) $ of some local vertex operators $\mathcal{O}%_{j}(z_{j}) $. We determine these operators and show that they are particular composites of q-deformed hierarchical vertex operators $% Γ_{\pm}^{(p)}$, with a positive integer p. In agreement with literature's results, we find that …
The Generalized Gibbs Ensemble (GGE) is relevant to understand the thermalization of quantum systems with an infinite set of conserved charges. In this work, we analyze the GGE partition function of 2D Conformal Field Theories (CFTs) with a U(1) charge and quantum Benjamin-Ono$_{2}$ (qBO$_{2}$) hierarchy charges. We use the Alday-Gaiotto-Tachikawa (AGT) correspondence to express the thermal trace in terms of the Alba-Fateev-Litvinov-Tarnopolskiy (AFLT) basis of descendants, which diagonalizes all charges. We analyze the GGE partition function in the thermodynamic semiclassical limit, including…
The notion of generalized gravitational entropy introduced by Lewkowycz and Maldacena allows, via the AdS/CFT correspondence, to calculate CFT entanglement entropies. We adapt the method to the case where flavor branes are present and treated in the probe approximation. This allows to calculate the leading flavor correction to the CFT entanglement entropy from the on-shell action of the probe, while dealing with the backreaction is avoided entirely and from the outset. As an application we give concise derivations for the contribution of massless and massive flavor degrees of freedom to the en…
We consider the universal sector of a $d$-dimensional large-$N$ strongly-interacting holographic CFT on a black hole spacetime background $B$. When our CFT$_d$ is coupled to dynamical Einstein-Hilbert gravity with Newton constant $G_{d}$, the combined system can be shown to satisfy a version of the thermodynamic Generalized Second Law (GSL) at leading order in $G_{d}$. The quantity $S_{CFT} + \frac{A(H_{B, \text{perturbed}})}{4G_{d}}$ is non-decreasing, where $A(H_{B, \text{perturbed}})$ is the (time-dependent) area of the new event horizon in the coupled theory. Our $S_{CFT}$ is the notion of…
I review the relationship between AdS/CFT (anti-de Sitter / conformal field theory) dualities and the general theory of positive energy unitary representations of non-compact space-time groups and supergroups. I show, in particular, how one can go from the manifestly unitary compact basis of the lowest weight (positive energy) representations of the conformal group (Wigner picture) to the manifestly covariant coherent state basis (Dirac picture). The coherent states labelled by the space-time coordinates correspond to covariant fields with a definite conformal dimension. These results extend t…
Recently, Freyhult, Rej and Staudacher (FRS) proposed an integral equation determining the leading logarithmic term of the anomalous dimension of sl(2) twist-operators in N=4 SYM for large Lorentz spin M and twist L at fixed j = L/log(M). We discuss the large j limit of the FRS equation. This limit can be matched with the {\em fast long string} limit of AdS_5 X S^5 superstring perturbation theory at all couplings. In particular, a certain part of the classical and one-loop string result is known to be protected and can be computed in the weakly coupled large-j limit of the FRS equation. We pre…
We discuss how electromagnetically dualizing a 1-form to a 2-form in AdS$_5$ exchanges regular and alternate boundary conditions, and thus gauges the originally global $U(1)$ symmetry in the dual field theory. The generalized symmetry current dual to the 2-form in the bulk is identified as the dual field strength of the gauged $U(1)$, and the associated double-trace operator with a logarithmically running coupling is just the gauged $U(1)$ Maxwell action. Applying this dualization to an AdS Maxwell-Chern-Simons theory dual to a global $U(1) \times U(1)$ model with an 't Hooft anomaly results i…
The paper is devoted to the study of BRST charge in perturbed two dimensional conformal field theory. The main goal is to write the operator equation expressing the conservation law of BRST charge in perturbed theory in terms of purely algebraic operations on the corresponding operator algebra, which are defined via the OPE. The corresponding equations are constructed and their symmetries are studied up to the second order in formal coupling constant. It appears that the obtained equations can be interpreted as generalized Maurer-Cartan ones. We study two concrete examples in detail: the boson…
We introduce a new approach to the study of the crossing equation for CFTs in the presence of a boundary. We argue that there is a basis for this equation related to the generalized free field solution. The dual basis is a set of linear functionals which act on the crossing equation to give a set of sum rules on the boundary CFT data: the functional bootstrap equations. We show these equations are essentially equivalent to a Polyakov-type approach to the bootstrap of BCFTs, and show how to fix the so-called contact term ambiguity in that context. Finally, the functional bootstrap equations dia…
Recently proposed double trace deformations of large $N$ holographic CFTs in four dimensions define a one parameter family of quantum field theories, which are interpreted in the bulk dual as living on successive finite radius hypersurfaces. The transformation of variables that turns the equation defining the deformation of a four dimensional large $N$ CFT by such operators into the expression for the radial ADM Hamiltonian in the bulk is found. This prescription clarifies the role of various functions of background fields that appear in the flow equation defining the deformed holographic CFT,…
We revisit certain aspects of thermalization in 2D CFT. In particular, we consider similarities and differences between the time dependence of correlation functions in various states in rational and non-rational CFTs. We also consider the distinction between global and local thermalization and explain how states obtained by acting with a diffeomorphism on the ground state can appear locally thermal, and we review why the time-dependent expectation value of the energy-momentum tensor is generally a poor diagnostic of global thermalization. Since all 2D CFTs have an infinite set of commuting con…
In double field theory, motivated by its field theoretic consistency, the level matching condition is generalized to the so-called strong constraint. In this note, it is investigated what the two-dimensional conformal field theory origin of this constraint is. Initially treating the left- and right-movers as independent, we compute the torus partition function as well as a generalized Virasoro-Shapiro amplitude. In non-compact directions the strong constraint arises from the factorization of the Virasoro-Shapiro amplitude over physical states as determined by the modular invariant partition fu…
We study modular properties of the AdS3 WZNW model. Although the Euclidean partition function is modular invariant, the characters on the Euclidean torus are ill-defined and their modular transformations are unknown. We reconsider the characters defined on the Lorentzian torus, focusing on their structure as distributions. We find a generalized S matrix, depending on the sign of the real modular parameters, which has two diagonal blocks and one off-diagonal block, mixing discrete and continuous representations, that we fully determine. We then explore the relations among the modular transforma…
We review the emergence of hypergeometric structures (of $F_4$ Appell functions) from the conformal Ward identities (CWIs) in conformal field theories (CFTs) in dimensions $d > 2$. We illustrate the case of scalar 3- and 4-point functions. 3-point functions are associated to hypergeometric systems with 4 independent solutions. For symmetric correlators they can be expressed in terms of a single 3K integral - functions of quadratic ratios of momenta - which is a parametric integral of three modified Bessel $K$ functions. In the case of scalar 4-point functions, by requiring the correlator to be…
We study implications of the weak gravity conjecture in the AdS/CFT correspondence. Unlike in Minkowski spacetime, AdS spacetime has a physical length scale, so that the conjecture must be generalized with an additional parameter. We discuss possible generalizations and translate them into the language of dual CFTs, which take the form of inequalities involving the dimension and charge of an operator as well as the current and energy-momentum tensor central charges. We then test these inequalities against various CFTs to see if they are universally obeyed by all the CFTs. We find that certain …
This paper studies a special class of states for the dual conformal field theories associated with supersymmetric $AdS_5\times X$ compactifications, where $X$ is a Sasaki-Einstein manifold with additional $U(1)$ symmetries. Under appropriate circumstances, it is found that elements of the chiral ring that maximize the additional $U(1)$ charge at fixed R-charge are in one to one correspondence with multitraces of a single composite field. This is also equivalent to Schur functions of the composite field. It is argued that in the formal zero coupling limit that these dual field theories have, th…
It was demonstrated in recent work that $d=4$ unitary CFT's satisfy a special property: if a scalar operator with conformal dimension $Δ$ exists in the operator spectrum, then the conformal bootstrap demands that large spin primary operators have to exist in the operator spectrum of the CFT with a conformal twist close to $2Δ+2N$ for any integer $N$. In this paper the conformal bootstrap methods that were used to find the anomalous dimension of the $N=0$ operators have been generalized to find the anomalous dimension of all large spin operators of this class. In AdS these operators can be inte…
We compute explicitly the two-dimensional version of Basso-Dixon type integrals for the planar four-point correlation functions given by conformal fishnet Feynman graphs. These diagrams are represented by a fragment of a regular square lattice of power-like propagators, arising in the recently proposed integrable bi-scalar fishnet CFT. The formula is derived from first principles, using the formalism of separated variables in integrable SL(2,C) spin chain. It is generalized to anisotropic fishnet, with different powers for propagators in two directions of the lattice.
We derive new crossing-symmetric dispersion formulae for CFT correlators restricted to the line. The formulae are equivalent to the sum rules implied by what we call master functionals, which are analytic extremal functionals which act on the crossing equation. The dispersion relations provide an equivalent formulation of the constraints of the Polyakov bootstrap and hence of crossing symmetry on the line. The built in positivity properties imply simple and exact lower and upper bounds on the values of general CFT correlators on the Euclidean section, which are saturated by generalized free fi…
Global conformal invariance determines the form of two and three-point functions of quasi-primary operators in a conformal field theory, and generates nontrivial relations between terms in the operator product expansion. These ideas are generalized to the principal and complementary series representations, which play an important role in the conjectured dS/CFT correspondence. The conformal partial wave expansions are constructed for these representations which in turn determine the operator product expansion. This leads us to conclude that conformal field theories containing such representatio…
