In this thesis, we analyze unitary conformal field theories in three dimensional spaces by applying analytic conformal bootstrap techniques to correlation functions of non-scalar operators, in particular Majorana fermions. Via the analysis of these correlation functions, we access several sectors in the spectrum of conformal field theories that have been previously unexplored with analytic methods, and we provide new data for several operator families. In the first part of the thesis, we achieve this by the large spin expansions that have been traditionally used in the conformal bootstrap program for scalar correlators, whereas in the second part we carry out the computations by combining several analytic tools that have been recently developed such as weight shifting operators, harmonic analysis for the Euclidean conformal group, and the Lorentzian inversion formula. We compare these methods and demonstrate the superiority of the latter by computing nonperturbative correction terms that are inaccessible in the former. A better analytic grasp of the spectrum of fermionic conformal field theories can help in many directions including making new precise analytic predictions for supersymmetric models, computing the binding energies of fermions in curved space, and describing quantum phase transitions in condensed matter systems with emergent Lorentz symmetry.
The conformal bootstrap is applied to percolation and dilute self-avoiding polymers, two theories with Virasoro central charge $c=0$ in two dimensions. In both cases we propose a spectrum of operators motivated by Virasoro symmetry which is devoid of a stress energy tensor as an approximate means of enforcing $c=0$. Percolation is treated in $2\leq D \leq 6$ dimensions, and the self-avoiding walk in $2 \leq D \leq 4$.
We study four-point functions of critical percolation in two dimensions, and more generally of the Potts model. We propose an exact ansatz for the spectrum: an infinite, discrete and non-diagonal combination of representations of the Virasoro algebra. Based on this ansatz, we compute four-point functions using a numerical conformal bootstrap approach. The results agree with Monte-Carlo computations of connectivities of random clusters.
We explain how the axioms of Conformal Field Theory are used to make predictions about critical exponents of continuous phase transitions in three dimensions, via a procedure called the conformal bootstrap. The method assumes conformal invariance of correlation functions, and imposes some relations between correlation functions of different orders. Numerical analysis shows that these conditions are incompatible unless the critical exponents take particular values, or more precisely that they must belong to a small island in the parameter space.
We introduce {\tt JuliBootS}, a package for numerical conformal bootstrap computations coded in {\tt Julia}. The centre-piece of {\tt JuliBootS} is an implementation of Dantzig's simplex method capable of handling arbitrary precision linear programming problems with continuous search spaces. Current supported features include conformal dimension bounds, OPE bounds, and bootstrap with or without global symmetries. The code is trivially parallelizable on one or multiple machines. We exemplify usage extensively with several real-world applications. In passing we give a pedagogical introduction to…
Based on the spectrum identified in our earlier work [arXiv:1809.02191], we numerically solve the bootstrap to determine four-point correlation functions of the geometrical connectivities in the $Q$-state Potts model. Crucial in our approach is the existence of "interchiral conformal blocks", which arise from the degeneracy of fields with conformal weight $h_{r,1}$, with $r\in\mathbb{N}^*$, and are related to the underlying presence of the "interchiral algebra" introduced in [arXiv:1207.6334]. We also find evidence for the existence of "renormalized" recursions, replacing those that follow fro…
For expansions in one-dimensional conformal blocks, we provide a rigorous link between the asymptotics of the spectral density of exchanged primaries and the leading singularity in the crossed channel. Our result has a direct application to systems of SL(2,R)-invariant correlators (also known as 1d CFTs). It also puts on solid ground a part of the lightcone bootstrap analysis of the spectrum of operators of high spin and bounded twist in CFTs in d>2. In addition, a similar argument controls the spectral density asymptotics in large N gauge theories.
The Yang-Lee edge singularity is investigated by the determinant method of the conformal field theory. The critical dimension Dc, for which the scale dimension of scalar Delta_phi is vanishing, is discussed by this determinant method. The result is incorporated in the Pade analysis of epsilon expansion, which leads to an estimation of the value Delta_phi between three and six dimensions. The structure of the minors is viewed from the fixed points.
These notes are from courses given at TASI and the Advanced Strings School in summer 2015. Starting from principles of quantum field theory and the assumption of a traceless stress tensor, we develop the basics of conformal field theory, including conformal Ward identities, radial quantization, reflection positivity, the operator product expansion, and conformal blocks. We end with an introduction to numerical bootstrap methods, focusing on the 2d and 3d Ising models.
We introduce SDPB: an open-source, parallelized, arbitrary-precision semidefinite program solver, designed for the conformal bootstrap. SDPB significantly outperforms less specialized solvers and should enable many new computations. As an example application, we compute a new rigorous high-precision bound on operator dimensions in the 3d Ising CFT, $Δ_σ=0.518151(6)$, $Δ_ε=1.41264(6)$.
The determinant method in the conformal bootstrap is applied for the critical phenomena of a single polymer in arbitrary $D$ dimensions. The scale dimensions (critical exponents) of the polymer ($2< D \le 4$) and the branched polymer ($3 < D \le 8$) are obtained from the small determinants. It is known that the dimensional reduction of the branched polymer in $D$ dimensions to Yang-Lee edge singularity in $D$-$2$ dimensions holds exactly. We examine this equivalence by the small determinant method.
With the help of recent developments in quantum algorithms for semidefinite programming, we discuss the possibility for quantum speedup for the numerical conformal bootstrap in conformal field theory. We show that quantum algorithms may have significant improvement in the computational performance for several numerical bootstrap problems.
$O(n) \times O(m)$ symmetric Landau-Ginzburg models in $d=3$ dimension possess a rich structure of the renormalization group and its understanding offers a theoretical prediction of the phase diagram in frustrated spin models with non-collinear order. Depending on $n$ and $m$, they may show chiral/anti-chiral/Heisenberg/Gaussian fixed points within the same universality class. We approach all the fixed points in the conformal bootstrap program by examining the bound on the conformal dimensions for scalar operators as well as non-conserved current operators with consistency crosschecks. For lar…
The dimensional reductions in the branched polymer and the random field Ising model (RFIM) are discussed by a conformal bootstrap method. The small size minors are applied for the evaluations of the scale dimensions of these two models and the results are compared to D'=D-2 dimensional Yang-Lee edge singularity and to pure D'=D-2 dimensional Ising model, respectively. For the former case, the dimensional reduction is shown to be valid for $3 \le D \le 8$, and for the latter case, the deviation from the dimensional reduction can be seen below five dimensions.
It is shown how to obtain conformal blocks from embedding space with the help of the operator product expansion. The minimal conformal block originates from scalar exchange in a four-point correlation functions of four scalars. All remaining conformal blocks are simple derivatives of the minimal conformal block. With the help of the orthogonality properties of the conformal blocks, the analytic conformal bootstrap can be implemented directly in embedding space, leading to a Jacobi-like definition of conformal field theories.
Bootstrap equations for conformal correlators that mimic the early theory of conformal bootstrap are written down in frames of the AdS/CFT approach. The simplified version of these equations, that may be justified if Schwinger-Keldysh formalism is used in AdS/CFT instead of conventional Feynman-Witten diagrams technique, permits to calculate values of conformal dimensions in the $O(N)$ symmetric model with conformal or composite Hubbard-Stratonovich field.
Conformal Bootstrap for surfaces with boundary in Liouville CFT. Part II: spectral resolution and bootstrap
Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, Laboratoire de mathématiques d’Orsay（巴黎萨克雷大学）；Aix-Marseille University, CNRS, Institut de Mathématiques de Marseille (I2M), and Institut Universitaire de France (IUF)（艾克斯-马赛大学）；Beijing Institute of Technology（北京理工大学）
Recent numerical results point to the existence of a conformally invariant twist defect in the critical 3d Ising model. In this note we show that this fact is supported by both epsilon expansion and conformal bootstrap calculations. We find that our results are in good agreement with the numerical data. We also make new predictions for operator dimensions and OPE coefficients from the bootstrap approach. In the process we derive universal bounds on one-dimensional conformal field theories and conformal line defects.
The axiomatic Wightman formulation for nonderivative conformal field theory is adopted to derive conformal bootstrap equation for the four point function. The equivalence between PCT theorem and {\it weak local commutativity}, due to Jost, play a very crucial role in axiomatic field theory. The theorem is suitably adopted for conformal field theory to derive the desired equations in CFT. We demonstrate that the two Wightman functions are analytic continuation of each other.
We present a low entry-level introduction to the Conformal Bootstrap. We review and obtain several basic bounds using Linear Programming in machine precision in Mathematica, making the results accessible even to the most uneducated computer user. The Extremal Functional Method and the method of determinants are also explored. Finally, we make an attempt at writing modular invariance statements as crossing symmetry equations for twist operators and perform Modular Bootstrap using 4-pt correlators.
The "old" conformal bootstrap was originally formulated by Migdal and Polyakov (MP) as a method for calculating conformal dimensions self-consistently. In this work we revisit the MP bootstrap and apply efficient multi-loop Feynman integral techniques in order to solve the corresponding equations. We obtain solutions at first order in the skeleton expansion for finite coupling and for integer values of the spacetime dimension. We focus in particular on the $ϕ^3$ theory in seven dimensions and the $O(N)$ vector models in three dimensions.
We consider conformal field theories with slightly broken higher spin symmetry in arbitrary spacetime dimensions. We analyze the crossing equation in the double light-cone limit and solve for the anomalous dimensions of higher spin currents $γ_s$ with large spin $s$. The result depends on the symmetries and the spectrum of the unperturbed conformal field theory. We reproduce all known results and make further predictions. In particular we make a prediction for the anomalous dimensions of higher spin currents in the 3d Ising model.
This paper has been withdrawn. A more satisfactory account of the results it was supposed to present will appear in a series of papers starting with hep-th/9712256 and hep-th/9712258
We use the numerical conformal bootstrap to study six-dimensional $\mathcal{N}=(1,0)$ superconformal field theories with flavor symmetry $\mathfrak{so}_{4k}$. We present evidence that minimal $(D_k, D_k)$ conformal matter saturates the unitarity bounds for arbitrary $k$. Furthermore, using the extremal-functional method, we check that the chiral-ring relations are correctly reproduced, extract the anomalous dimensions of low-lying long superconformal multiplets, and find hints for novel OPE selection rules involving type-$\mathcal{B}$ multiplets.
The crossing equations of a conformal field theory can be systematically truncated to a finite, closed system of polynomial equations. In certain cases, solutions of the truncated equations place strict bounds on the space of all unitary CFTs. We describe the conditions under which this holds, and use the results to develop a fast algorithm for modular bootstrap in 2d CFT. We then apply it to compute spectral gaps to very high precision, find scaling dimensions for over a thousand operators, and extend the numerical bootstrap to the regime of large central charge, relevant to holography. This …
The single-correlator conformal bootstrap is solved numerically for several values of dimension 4>d>2 using the available SDPB and Extremal Functional methods. Critical exponents and other conformal data of low-lying states are obtained over the entire range of dimensions with up to four-decimal precision and then compared with several existing results. The conformal dimensions of leading-twist fields are also determined up to high spin, and their d-dependence shows how the conformal states rearrange themselves around d=2.2 for matching the Virasoro conformal blocks in the d=2 limit. The decou…
In large part, the future utility of modern numerical conformal bootstrap depends on its ability to accurately predict the existence of hitherto unknown non-trivial conformal field theories (CFTs). Here we investigate the extent to which this is possible in the case where the global symmetry group has a product structure. We do this by testing for signatures of fixed points using a mixed-correlator bootstrap calculation with a minimal set of input assumptions. This 'semi-blind' approach contrasts with other approaches for probing more complicated groups, which 'target' known theories with addi…
Using the full conformal bootstrap method an analytic expression is given in d-dimensions for the anomalous dimension of the fermion at O(1/N^3) in a large N expansion of the Nambu--Jona-Lasinio model with SU(2) x SU(2) continuous chiral symmetry.
We calculate the interaction vertex of three BFKL states including the bare triple BFKL Pomeron coupling and discuss its relation with the correlation functions in two-dimensional conformal field theory. We construct the operator algebra of the fields interpolating the BFKL states and show that in the multi-color limit the vertex satisfies the constraints imposed by the conformal bootstrap on the structure constants of the operator product expansion in conformal field theory.
We formulate the conformal bootstrap approach to four--fermion theory at its strong coupling fixed point in dimensions $2<d<4$. We present a solution of the bootstrap equations in the five--vertex approximation. We show that the bootstrap approach gives a particularly simple way to obtain next to leading order corrections to critical exponents in the large $N$ expansion and present the values of the anomalous dimensions of the fermion field $ψ$ and the composite $\barψψ$ to order $1/N^2$.
We review the recent developments in the study of conformal field theories in generic space time dimensions using the methods of the conformal bootstrap, in its analytic aspect. These techniques are based solely on symmetries, in particular in the analytic structure and in the associativity of the operator product expansion. We focus on two applications of the analytic conformal bootstrap: the study of the $ε$ expansion of the Wilson Fisher model via the introduction of a dispersion relation and the large $N$ expansion of maximally supersymmetric Super Yang Mills theory in four dimensions.
The constraints of conformal bootstrap are applied to investigate a set of conformal field theories in various dimensions. The prescriptions can be applied to both unitary and non unitary theories allowing for the study of the spectrum of low-lying primary operators of the theory. We evaluate the lowest scaling dimensions of the local operators associated with the Yang-Lee edge singularity for $2 \le D \le 6$. Likewise we obtain the scaling dimensions of six scalars and four spinning operators for the 3d critical Ising model. Our findings are in agreement with existing results to a per mill pr…
The Schwinger-Dyson equations for Green functions and 3-vertexes in planar approximation used 50 years ago in the earlier theory of conformal bootstrap are written in frames of the AdS/CFT correspondence. The technique of "Wightman-Witten" diagrams is used in calculations of the bubble bulk diagrams that permitted to obtain the values of conformal dimensions of primary operators in two models of the interacting bulk scalar fields which conformal dimensions obey "extremal" relation. Simple expressions for the four-point tree "Wightman-Witten" correlators of these primary operators are obtained …
Recent programs on conformal bootstrap suggest an empirical relationship between the existence of non-trivial conformal field theories and non-trivial features such as a kink in the unitarity bound of conformal dimensions in the conformal bootstrap equations. We report the existene of non-trivial kinks in the unitarity bound of scalar operators in the adjoint representation of the $SU(N)$ symmetric conformal field theories. They have interesting properties (1) the kinks exist in $d<6$ dimensions (2) the location of kinks are when the unitarity bound hits the space-time dimension $d$ (3) there …
We construct a conformal map from $\mathbb{R}^3$ to a three-dimensional spheriod, which includes $\mathbb{S}^3$, a double-cover of the 3-ball, and $\mathbb{R} \times \mathbb{S}^2$ as limiting cases. Using the data of the critical three-dimensional Ising model on $\mathbb{R}^3$ that was computed using the conformal bootstrap method, we numerically estimate the fourth-order Binder cumulant of the critical three-dimensional $ϕ^4$ theory on $\mathbb{S}^3$. We expect this estimate will enable an interesting comparison between the conformal bootstrap and future calculations of critical $ϕ^4$ theory …
The modern conformal bootstrap program often employs the method of linear functionals to derive the numerical or analytical bounds on the CFT data. These functionals must have a crucial "swapping" property, allowing to swap infinite summation with the action of the functional in the conformal bootstrap sum rule. Swapping is easy to justify for the popular functionals involving finite sums of derivatives. However, it is far from obvious for "cut-touching" functionals, involving integration over regions where conformal block decomposition does not converge uniformly. Functionals of this type wer…
The recent work by Iha et al shows an upper bound on mass anomalous dimension $γ_m$ of multi-flavor massless QCD at the renormalization group fixed point from the conformal bootstrap in $SU(N_F)_V$ symmetric conformal field theories under the assumption that the fixed point is realizable with the lattice regularization based on staggered fermions. We show that the almost identical but slightly stronger bound applies to the regularization based on Wilson fermions (or domain wall fermions) by studying the conformal bootstrap in $SU(N_f)_L \times SU(N_f)_R$ symmetric conformal field theories. For…
We explore the idea to bootstrap Feynman integrals using integrability. In particular, we put the recently discovered Yangian symmetry of conformal Feynman integrals to work. As a prototypical example we demonstrate that the D-dimensional box integral with generic propagator powers is completely fixed by its symmetries to be a particular linear combination of Appell hypergeometric functions. In this context the Bloch-Wigner function arises as a special Yangian invariant in 4D. The bootstrap procedure for the box integral is naturally structured in algorithmic form. We then discuss the Yangian …
We use the conformal bootstrap program to derive necessary conditions for emergent symmetry enhancement from discrete symmetry (e.g. $\mathbb{Z}_n$) to continuous symmetry (e.g. $U(1)$) under the renormalization group flow. In three dimensions, in order for $\mathbb{Z}_2$ symmetry to be enhanced to $U(1)$ symmetry, the conformal bootstrap program predicts that the scaling dimension of the order parameter field at the infrared conformal fixed point must satisfy $Δ_1 > 1.08$. We also obtain the similar conditions for $\mathbb{Z}_3$ symmetry with $Δ_{1} > 0.580$ and $\mathbb{Z}_4$ symmetry with $…
In this work, we develop conformal bootstrap for Galilean conformal field theory (GCFT). In a GCFT, the Hilbert space could be decomposed into quasiprimary states and its global descendants. Different from the usual conformal field theory, the quasi-primary states in a GCFT constitute multiplets, which are block-diagonized under the Galilean boost operator. More importantly the multiplets include the states of negative norms, indicating the theory is not unitary. We compute global blocks of the multiplets, and discuss the expansion of four-point functions in terms of the global blocks of the m…
The analytic conformal bootstrap is an array of techniques to characterize, constrain, and solve strongly interacting quantum field theories using symmetries, causality, unitarity, and other general principles. In the last decade, bolstered by the development of new Lorentzian methods, it has been used to solve conformal field theories at large spin; to place bounds on energy distributions, event shapes, operator product coefficients, and other observables; and to understand aspects of quantum gravity in anti-de Sitter space. We review these advances and highlight several promising areas for f…
We extend the study of the recently discovered Yangian symmetry of massive Feynman integrals and its relation to massive momentum space conformal symmetry. After proving the symmetry statements in detail at one and two loop orders, we employ the conformal and Yangian constraints to bootstrap various one-loop examples of massive Feynman integrals. In particular, we explore the interplay between Yangian symmetry and hypergeometric expressions of the considered integrals. Based on these examples we conjecture single series representations for all dual conformal one-loop integrals in D spacetime d…
We apply numerical conformal bootstrap techniques to the four-point function of a Weyl spinor in 4d non-supersymmetric CFTs. We find universal bounds on operator dimensions and OPE coefficients, including bounds on operators in mixed symmetry representations of the Lorentz group, which were inaccessible in previous bootstrap studies. We find discontinuities in some of the bounds on operator dimensions, and we show that they arise due to a generic yet previously unobserved fake primary effect, which is related to the existence of poles in conformal blocks. We show that this effect is also respo…
The fractal dimensions of polymer chains and high-temperature graphs in the Ising model both in three dimension are determined using the conformal bootstrap applied for the continuation of the $O(N)$ models from $N=1$ (Ising model) to $N=0$ (polymer). The unitarity bound below $N=1$ of the scaling dimension for the the $O(N)$-symmetric-tensor develops a kink as a function of the fundamental field as in the case of the energy operator dimension in the Ising model. Although this kink structure becomes less pronounced as $N$ tends to zero, an emerging asymmetric minimum in the current central cha…
We define the two-dimensional $O(n)$ conformal field theory as a theory that includes the critical dilute and dense $O(n)$ models as special cases, and depends analytically on the central charge. For generic values of $n\in\mathbb{C}$, we write a conjecture for the decomposition of the spectrum into irreducible representations of $O(n)$. We then explain how to numerically bootstrap arbitrary four-point functions of primary fields in the presence of the global $O(n)$ symmetry. We determine the needed conformal blocks, including logarithmic blocks, including in singular cases. We argue that $O(n…
We study the tricritical Ising universality class using conformal bootstrap techniques. By studying bootstrap constraints originating from multiple correlators on the CFT data of multiple OPEs, we are able to determine the scaling dimension of the spin field $Δ_σ$ in various non-integer dimensions $2 \le d \le 3$. $Δ_σ$ is connected to the critical exponent $η$ that governs the (tri-)critical behaviour of the two point function via the relation, $η= 2 - d + 2 Δ_σ$. Our results for $Δ_σ$ match with the exactly known values in two and three dimensions and are a conjecture for non-integer dimensi…
This review aims to offer a pedagogical introduction to the analytic conformal bootstrap program via a journey through selected topics. We review analytic methods which include the large spin perturbation theory, Mellin space methods and the Lorentzian inversion formula. These techniques are applied to a variety of topics ranging from large-N theories, to the epsilon expansion and holographic superconformal correlators, and are demonstrated in a large number of explicit examples.
Conformal field theories play a central role in theoretical physics with many applications ranging from condensed matter to string theory. The conformal bootstrap studies conformal field theories using mathematical consistency conditions and has seen great progress over the last decade. In this thesis we present an implementation of analytic bootstrap methods for perturbative conformal field theories in dimensions greater than two, which we achieve by combining large spin perturbation theory with the Lorentzian inversion formula. In the presence of a small expansion parameter, not necessarily …
We develop an approach to construct local bulk operators in a CFT to order $1/N^2$. Since 4-point functions are not fixed by conformal invariance we use the OPE to categorize possible forms for a bulk operator. Using previous results on 3-point functions we construct a local bulk operator in each OPE channel. We then impose the condition that the bulk operators constructed in different channels agree, and hence give rise to a well-defined bulk operator. We refer to this condition as the "bulk bootstrap." We argue and explicitly show in some examples that the bulk bootstrap leads to some of the…
We propose a novel approach to study conformal field theories (CFTs) in general dimensions. In the conformal bootstrap program, one usually searches for consistent CFT data that satisfy crossing symmetry. In the new approach, we reverse the logic and interpret manifestly crossing-symmetric functions as generating functions of conformal data. Physical CFTs can be obtained by scanning the space of symmetric functions. By truncating the fusion rules, we are able to concentrate on the low-lying operators and derive some approximate relations for their conformal data. It turns out that the free sca…
General principles of quantum field theory imply that there exists an operator product expansion (OPE) for Wightman functions in Minkowski momentum space that converges for arbitrary kinematics. This convergence is guaranteed to hold in the sense of a distribution, meaning that it holds for correlation functions smeared by smooth test functions. The conformal blocks for this OPE are conceptually extremely simple: they are products of 3-point functions. We construct the conformal blocks in 2-dimensional conformal field theory and show that the OPE in fact converges pointwise to an ordinary func…
