We construct a generalization of the cyclic $λ$-deformed models of \cite{Georgiou:2017oly} by relaxing the requirement that all the WZW models should have the same level $k$. Our theories are integrable and flow from a single UV point to different IR fixed points depending on the different orderings of the WZW levels $k_i$. First we calculate the Zamolodchikov's C-function for these models as exact functions of the deformation parameters. Subsequently, we fully characterize each of the IR conformal field theories. Although the corresponding left and right sectors have different symmetries, realized as products of current and coset-type symmetries, the associated central charges are precisely equal, in agreement with the valuesobtained from the C-function.
Recent progress on the relation between asymmetric conformal field theories and vacua of gauged supergravities is reviewed. This includes an attempt to classify asymmetric Gepner models in 8D, 6D and 4D with at least eight supercharges, and how they can be categorized by just a few mechanisms including the super Higgs-effect. The latter is a prerequisite for the identification with non-geometric flux compactifications. We also highlight our findings for the identification of 4D asymmetric Gepner models with ${\cal N}=1$ supersymmetry with Minkowski vacua of ${\cal N}=2$ GSUGRA.
We compute the all-loop anomalous dimensions of current and primary field operators in deformed current algebra theories based on a general semi-simple group, but with different (large) levels for the left and right sectors. These theories, unlike their equal level counterparts, possess a new non-trivial fixed point in the IR. By computing the exact in $λ$ two- and three-point functions for these operators we deduce their OPEs and their equal-time commutators. Using these we argue on the nature of the CFT at the IR fixed point. The associated to the currents Poisson brackets are a two-paramete…
We construct a new class of integrable $σ$-models based on current algebra theories for a general semisimple group $G$ by utilizing a left-right asymmetric gauging. Their action can be thought of as the all-loop effective action of two independent WZW models for $G$ both at level $k$, perturbed by current bilinears mixing the different WZW models. A non-perturbative symmetry in the couplings parametric space is revealed. We perform the Hamiltonian analysis of the action and demonstrate integrability in several cases. We extend our construction to deformations of $G/H$ CFTs and show integrabili…
We study the thermal transport properties of general conformal field theories (CFTs) on curved spacetimes in the leading order viscous hydrodynamic limit. At the level of linear response, we show that the thermal transport is governed by a system of forced linearised Navier-Stokes equations on a curved space. Our setup includes CFTs in flat spacetime that have been deformed by spatially dependent and periodic local temperature variations or strains that have been applied to the CFT, and hence is relevant to CFTs arising in condensed matter systems at zero charge density. We provide specific ex…
We study the renormalization group equations of the fully anisotropic $λ$-deformed CFTs involving the direct product of two current algebras at different levels $k_{1,2}$ for general semi-simple groups. The exact, in the deformation parameters, $β$-function is found via the effective action of the quantum fluctuations around a classical background as well as from gravitational techniques. Furthermore, agreement with known results for symmetric couplings and/or for equal levels, is demonstrated. We study in detail the two coupling case arising by splitting the group into a subgroup and the corr…
Recent developments in the study of the moonshine phenomenon, including umbral and Conway moonshine, suggest that it may play an important role in encoding the action of finite symmetry groups on the BPS spectrum of K3 string theory. To test and clarify these proposed K3-moonshine connections, we study Landau-Ginzburg orbifolds that flow to conformal field theories in the moduli space of K3 sigma models. We compute K3 elliptic genera twined by discrete symmetries that are manifest in the UV description, though often inaccessible in the IR. We obtain various twining functions coinciding with mo…
By employing CFT techniques, we show how to compute in the context of λ-deformations of current algebras and coset CFTs the exact in the deformation parameters C-function for a wide class of integrable theories that interpolate between a UV and an IR point. We explicitly consider RG flows for integrable deformations of left-right asymmetric current algebras and coset CFTs. In all cases, the derived exact C-functions obey all the properties asserted by Zamolodchikov's c-theorem in two-dimensions.
This paper is designed to be a practical tool for constructing and investigating two-point correlation functions in defect conformal field theory, directly in physical space, between any two bulk primaries or between a bulk primary and a defect primary, with arbitrary spin. Although geometrically elegant and ultimately a more powerful approach, the embedding space formalism gets rather cumbersome when dealing with mixed symmetry tensors, especially in the projection to physical space. The results in this paper provide an alternative method for studying two-point correlation functions for a gen…
We consider states of the D1-D5 CFT where only the left-moving sector is excited. As we deform away from the orbifold point, some of these states will remain BPS while others can `lift'. The lifting can be computed by a path integral containing two twist deformations; however, the relevant 4-point amplitude cannot be computed explicitly in many cases. We analyze an older proposal by Gava and Narain where the lift can be computed in terms of a finite number of 3-point functions. A direct Hamiltonian decomposition of the path integral involves an infinite number of 3-point functions, as well the…
We study a general class of functionals providing an analytic handle on the conformal bootstrap equations in one dimension. We explicitly identify the extremal functionals, corresponding to theories saturating conformal bootstrap bounds, in two regimes. The first corresponds to functionals that annihilate the generalized free fermion spectrum. In this case, we analytically find both OPE and gap maximization functionals proving the extremality of the generalized free fermion solution to crossing. Secondly, we consider a scaling limit where all conformal dimensions become large, equivalent to th…
String theory contains solutions with SL(2,R)_R x U(1)_L-invariant warped AdS3 (WAdS3) factors arising as continuous deformations of ordinary AdS3 factors. We propose that some of these are holographically dual to the IR limits of nonlocal dipole-deformed 2D D-brane gauge theories, referred to as "dipole CFTs". Neither the bulk nor boundary theories are currently well-understood, and consequences of the proposed duality for both sides is investigated. The bulk entropy-area law suggests that dipole CFTs have (at large N) a high-energy density of states which does not depend on the deformation p…
We consider counterterms for odd dimensional holographic CFTs. These counterterms are derived by demanding cut-off independence of the CFT partition function on $S^d$ and $S^1 \times S^{d-1}$. The same choice of counterterms leads to a cut-off independent Schwarzschild black hole entropy. When treated as independent actions, these counterterm actions resemble critical theories of gravity, i.e., higher curvature gravity theories where the additional massive spin-2 modes become massless. Equivalently, in the context of AdS/CFT, these are theories where at least one of the central charges associa…
We study the partition function of odd-dimensional conformal field theories placed on spheres with a squashed metric. We establish that the round sphere provides a local extremum for the free energy which, in general, is not a global extremum. In addition, we show that the leading quadratic correction to the free energy around this extremum is proportional to the coefficient, $C_T$, determining the two-point function of the energy-momentum tensor in the CFT. For three-dimensional CFTs, we compute explicitly this proportionality constant for a class of squashing deformations which preserve an $…
After an introduction to N=2 susy Yang-Mills theories, I review in some detail, for the SU(2) gauge group, how the low-energy effective action is obtained using duality and the constraints arising from the supersymmetry. Then I discuss how knowledge of this action, duality and certain discrete symmetries allow us to determine the spectra of stable BPS states at any point in moduli space. This is done for gauge group SU(2), without and with fundamental matter hypermultiplets which may have non-vanishing bare masses. In the latter case non-trivial four-dimensional CFTs arise at Argyres-Douglas t…
We examine two-dimensional conformal field theories (CFTs) at central charge c=0. These arise typically in the description of critical systems with quenched disorder, but also in other contexts including dilute self-avoiding polymers and percolation. We show that such CFTs must in general possess, in addition to their stress energy tensor T(z), an extra field whose holomorphic part, t(z), has conformal weight two. The singular part of the Operator Product Expansion (OPE) between T(z) and t(z) is uniquely fixed up to a single number b, defining a new `anomaly' which is a characteristic of any c…
We analyse various two dimensional theories arising from compactification of type II and heterotic string theory on asymmetric orbifolds. We find extra supersymmetry generators arising from twisted sectors, giving rise to exotic supersymmetry algebras. Among others we discover new cases with a large number of supercharges, such as $\mathcal{N}=(20,8)$, $\mathcal{N}=(24,8)$, $\mathcal{N}=(32,0)$, $\mathcal{N}=(24,24)$ and $\mathcal{N}=(48,0)$.
The D1-D5 system is believed to have an `orbifold point' in its moduli space where its low energy theory is a N=4 supersymmetric sigma model with target space M^N/S^N, where M is T^4 or K3. We study correlation functions of chiral operators in CFTs arising from such a theory. We construct a basic class of chiral operators from twist fields of the symmetric group and the generators of the superconformal algebra. We find explicitly the 3-point functions for these chiral fields at large N; these expressions are `universal' in that they are independent of the choice of M. We observe that the resul…
The Bethe ansatz equation is solved to obtain analytically the leading finite-size correction of the spectra of the asymmetric XXZ chain and the accompanying isotropic 6-vertex model near the antiferromagnetic phase boundary at zero vertical field. The energy gaps scale with size $N$ as $N^{-1/2}$ and its amplitudes are obtained in terms of level-dependent scaling functions. Exactly on the phase boundary, the amplitudes are proportional to a sum of square-root of integers and an anomaly term. By summing over all low-lying levels, the partition functions are obtained explicitly. Similar analysi…
What is the quantum state of the universe? Although there have been several interesting suggestions, the question remains open. In this paper, I consider a natural choice for the universal quantum state arising from the Past Hypothesis, a boundary condition that accounts for the time-asymmetry of the universe. The natural choice is given not by a wave function (representing a pure state) but by a density matrix (representing a mixed state). I begin by classifying quantum theories into two types: theories with a fundamental wave function and theories with a fundamental density matrix. The Past …
