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In this paper, we make use of holographic Boundary Conformal Field Theory (BCFT) to simulate the black hole information problem in the semi-classical picture. We investigate the correlation between a portion of Hawking radiation and entanglement islands by the area of an entanglement wedge cross-section. Building on the understanding of the relationship between entanglement wedge cross-sections and perfect tensor entanglement as discussed in reference [18], we make an intriguing observation: in the semi-classical picture, the positioning of an entanglement island automatically yields a pattern of perfect tensor entanglement. Furthermore, the contribution of this perfect tensor entanglement, combined with the bipartite entanglement contribution, precisely determines the area of the entanglement wedge cross-section. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The symmetric orbifold of 핋4 is the analogue of free SYM in four dimensions, and its dual is described by a tensionless string propagating in AdS3 × S3 × 핋4. In this paper we study the deformation of this exact AdS/CFT duality away from the free point. On the symmetric orbifold side this amounts to perturbing the theory by the exactly marginal operator from the 2-cycle twisted sector. We identify the corresponding perturbation in the dual worldsheet description, and show that the anomalous conformal dimensions of a number of symmetric orbifold currents are correctly reproduced from this worldsheet perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently introduced connections between quantum codes and Narain CFTs provide a simple ansatz to express a modular-invariant function Z τ τ ¯ in terms of a multivariate polynomial satisfying certain additional properties. These properties include algebraic identities, which ensure modular invariance of Z τ τ ¯ , and positivity and integrality of coefficients, which imply positivity and integrality of the 픲(1)n × 픲(1)n character expansion of Z τ τ ¯ . Such polynomials come naturally from codes, in the sense that each code of a certain type gives rise to the so-called enumerator polynomial, which automatically satisfies all necessary properties, while the resulting Z τ τ ¯ is the partition function of the code CFT — the Narain theory unambiguously constructed from the code. Yet there are also "fake" polynomials satisfying all necessary properties, that are not associated with any code. They lead to Z τ τ ¯ satisfying all modular bootstrap constraints (modular invariance and positivity and integrality of character expansion), but whether they are partition functions of any actual CFT is unclear. We consider the group of the six simplest fake polynomials and denounce the corresponding Z's as fake: we show that none of them is the torus partition function of any Narain theory. Moreover, four of them are not partition functions of any unitary 2d CFT; our analysis for other two is inconclusive. Our findings point to an obvious limitation of the modular bootstrap approach: not every solution of the full set of torus modular bootstrap constraints is due to an actual CFT. In the paper we consider six simple examples, keeping in mind that thousands more can be constructed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We compute a large collection of string worldsheet correlators describing light probes interacting with heavy black hole microstates. The heavy states consist of NS5 branes carrying momentum and/or fundamental string charge. In the fivebrane decoupling limit, worldsheet string theory on a family of such backgrounds is given by exactly solvable null-gauged WZW models. We construct physical vertex operators in these cosets, including all massless fluctuations. We compute a large class of novel heavy-light-light-heavy correlators in the AdS3 limit, where the light operators include those dual to chiral primaries of the holographically dual CFT. We compare a subset of these correlators to the holographic CFT at the symmetric product orbifold point, and find precise agreement in all cases, including for light operators in twisted sectors of the orbifold CFT. The agreement is highly non-trivial, and includes amplitudes that describe the analogue of Hawking radiation for these microstates. We further derive a formula for worldsheet correlators consisting of n light insertions on these backgrounds, and discuss which subset of these correlators are likely to be protected. As a test, we compute a heavy-light five-point function, obtaining precisely the same result both from the worldsheet and the symmetric orbifold CFT. This paper is a companion to and extension of [1]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bondi-Metzner-Sachs (BMS) symmetries, or equivalently Conformal Carroll symmetries, are intrinsically associated to null manifolds and in two dimensions can be obtained as an Inönü-Wigner contraction of the two-dimensional (2d) relativistic conformal algebra. Instead of performing contractions, we demonstrate in this paper how this transmutation of symmetries can be achieved by infinite boosts or degenerate linear transformations on coordinates. Taking explicit cues from the worldsheet theory of null strings, we show boosting the system is equivalent to adding a current-current deformation term to the Hamiltonian. As the strength of this deformation term reaches a critical value, the classical symmetry algebra "flows" from two copies of Virasoro to the BMS algebra. We further explore the situation where the CFT coordinates are asymmetrically transformed, and degenerate limits lead to chiral theories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we study in detail the deformations introduced in [1] of the integrable structures of the AdS2,3 integrable models. We do this by embedding the corresponding scattering matrices into the most general solutions of the Yang-Baxter equation. We show that there are several non-trivial embeddings and corresponding deformations. We work out crossing symmetry for these models and study their symmetry algebras and representations. In particular, we identify a new elliptic deformation of the AdS3× S3× M4 string sigma model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Irrelevant operators in a CFT modify the usual Weyl transformation of the metric. A metric beta-function turns on, which modifies the Weyl anomalies as well. In this paper, we study the relation between bulk diffeomorphisms and Weyl transformation at the boundary when a massive scalar field, which sources irrelevant operators at the boundary, is coupled to the bulk metric. Considering the effect of the backreaction generated by the scalar field, we provide a holographic description of the boundary metric beta-function and anomalies. Our results represent an additional test of the AdS/CFT correspondence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We construct a three-parameter family of non-extremal microstate geometries, or "microstrata", that are dual to states and deformations of the D1-D5 CFT. These families are non-extremal analogues of superstrata. We find these microstrata by using a Q-ball-inspired Ansatz that reduces the equations of motion to solving for eleven functions of one variable. We then solve this system both perturbatively and numerically and the results match extremely well. We find that the solutions have normal mode frequencies that depend upon the amplitudes of the excitations. We also show that, at higher order in perturbations, some of the solutions, having started with normalizable modes, develop a "non-normalizable" part, suggesting that the microstrata represent states in a perturbed form of the D1-D5 CFT. This paper is intended as a "Proof of Concept" for the Q-ball-inspired approach, and we will describe how it opens the way to many interesting follow-up calculations both in supergravity and in the dual holographic field theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We calculate numerically the torus one-point string diagram in the two-dimensional string cosmology background by decomposing the one-point functions in c = 1 and c = 25 Liouville CFT into torus one-point Virasoro conformal blocks and integrating over the fundamental domain of the torus moduli space. We find a remarkably simple result as a function of the outgoing closed string energy. This torus one-point diagram is expected to contribute to the one-point cosmological wavefunction at order gs, and to the four-point cosmological wavefunction at order g s 2 through the disconnected product of the torus one-point diagram and the sphere three-point diagram. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we explore the open string amplitude's dual role as a space-time S-matrix and a 2D holomorphic CFT correlation function. We pursue this correspondence in two directions. First, beginning with a general disk integrand dressed with a Koba-Nielsen factor, we demonstrate that exchange symmetry for the factorization residue of the amplitude forces the integrand to be expandable on SL(2,R) conformal blocks. Furthermore, positivity constraints associated with unitarity imply the SL(2,R) blocks must come in linear combinations for which the Virasoro block emerges at the "kink" in the space of solutions. In other words, Virasoro symmetry arises at the boundary of consistent factorization. Next, we consider the low energy EFT description, where unitarity manifests as the EFThedron in which the couplings must live. The existence of a worldsheet description implies, through the Koba-Nielsen factor, monodromy relations which impose algebraic identities amongst the EFT couplings. We demonstrate at finite derivative order that the intersection of the "monodromy plane" and the four-dimensional EFThedron carves out a tiny island for the couplings, which continues to shrink as the derivative order is increased. At the eighth derivative order, on a three-dimensional monodromy plane, the intersection fixes the width of this island to around 1.5% (of ζ(3)) and 0.2% (of ζ(5)) with respect to the toroidally compactified Type-I super string answer. This leads us to conjecture that the four-point open superstring amplitude can be completely determined by the geometry of the intersection of the monodromy plane and the EFThedron. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work concerns the quantum Lorentzian and Euclidean black hole non-linear sigma models. For the Euclidean black hole sigma model an equilibrium density matrix is proposed, which reproduces the modular invariant partition function from the 2001 paper of Maldacena, Ooguri and Son. For the Lorentzian black hole sigma model, using its formulation as a gauged SL(2, ℝ) WZW model, we describe the linear and Hermitian structure of its space of states and also propose an expression for the equilibrium density matrix. Our analysis is guided by the results of the study of a certain critical, integrable spin chain. In the scaling limit, the latter exhibits the key features of the Lorentzian black hole sigma model including the same global symmetries, the same algebra of extended conformal symmetry and a continuous spectrum of conformal dimensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spin Matrix theory (SMT) limits provide a way to capture the dynamics of the AdS/CFT correspondence near BPS bounds. On the string theory side, these limits result in non-relativistic sigma models that can be interpreted as novel non-relativistic strings. This SMT string theory couples to non-relativistic U(1)-Galilean background geometries. In this paper, we explore the relation between pp-wave backgrounds obtained from Penrose limits of AdS5 × S5, and a new type of U(1)-Galilean backgrounds that we call flat-fluxed (FF) backgrounds. These FF backgrounds are the simplest possible SMT string backgrounds and correspond to free magnons from the spin chain perspective. We provide a catalogue of the U(1)-Galilean backgrounds one obtains from SMT limits of string theory on AdS5 × S5 and subsequently study large charge limits of these geometries from which the FF backgrounds emerge. We show that these limits are analogous to Penrose limits of AdS5 × S5 and demonstrate that the large charge/Penrose limits commute with the SMT limits. Finally, we point out that U(1)-Galilean backgrounds prescribe a symplectic manifold for the transverse SMT string embedding fields. This is illustrated with a Hamiltonian derivation for the SMT limit of a particle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we prove the equivalence among (i) the weakly coupled worldsheet string theory described by the coset sigma model SL 2 ℝ k × U 1 U 1 × S3 × T4 with SL(2, ℝ) WZW level k ≥ 2, (ii) the full near horizon theory of the NS5 branes with k NS5 branes wrapping T4 × S1, p » 1 F1 strings wrapping S1 and n units of momentum along the S1 and (iii) the single trace T T ¯ deformation of string theory in AdS3 × S3 × T4. As a check we compute the spectrum (continuous) of the spacetime theory by performing BRST quantization of the coset description of the worldsheet theory and show that it matches exactly with the one derived in the case of single trace T T ¯ deformed string theory in AdS3. Secondly, we compute the two-point correlation function of local operators of the spacetime theory using the worldsheet coset approach and reproduce the same two-point function from the supergravity approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study type-B conformal anomalies associated with 1 2 -BPS Coulomb-branch operators in 4D N = 2 superconformal field theories. When the vacuum preserves the conformal symmetry these anomalies coincide with the two-point function coefficients in the Coulomb-branch chiral ring. They are non-trivial functions of exactly-marginal couplings that can be determined from the S4 partition function. In this paper, we examine the fate of these anomalies in vacua of the Higgs-branch moduli space, where conformal symmetry is spontaneously broken. We argue non-perturbatively that these anomalies are covariantly constant on conformal manifolds. In some cases, this can be used to show that they match in the broken and unbroken phases. Thus, we uncover a new class of data on the Higgs branch of 4D N = 2 conformal field theories that are exactly computable. An interesting application of this matching occurs in N = 2 circular quivers that deconstruct the 6D (2,0) theory on a torus. In that context, we argue that 4D supersymmetric localisation can be used to calculate non-trivial data involving 1 2 -BPS operators of the 6D theory as exact functions of the complex structure of the torus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, string theory on AdS3× S3× 𝕋4 with one unit of NS-NS flux (k = 1) was argued to be exactly dual to the symmetric orbifold of 𝕋 4, and in particular, the full (unprotected) spectrum was matched between the two descriptions. This duality was later extended to the case with higher NS-NS background flux for which the long string sector was argued to be described by the symmetric product orbifold of (N = 4 Liouville) × 𝕋 4. In this paper we study correlation functions for the bosonic analogue of this duality, relating bosonic string theory on AdS3× X to the symmetric orbifold of Liouville × X. More specifically, we show that the low-lying null vectors of Liouville theory correspond to BRST exact states from the worldsheet perspective, and we demonstrate that they give rise to the expected BPZ differential equations for the dual CFT correlators. Since the structure constants of Liouville theory are uniquely fixed by these constraints, this shows that the seed theory of the dual CFT contains indeed the Liouville factor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We show the refinement of the prescription for the geometric transition in the refined topological string theory and, as its application, discuss a possibility to describe qq-characters from the string theory point of view. Though the suggested way to operate the refined geometric transition has passed through several checks, it is additionally found in this paper that the presence of the preferred direction brings a nontrivial effect. We provide the modified formula involving this point. We then apply our prescription of the refined geometric transition to proposing the stringy description of doubly quantized Seiberg-Witten curves called qq-characters in certain cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

6d superconformal field theories (SCFTs) are the SCFTs in the highest possible dimension. They can be geometrically engineered in F-theory by compactifying on non-compact elliptic Calabi-Yau manifolds. In this paper we focus on the class of SCFTs whose base geometry is determined by −2 curves intersecting according to ADE Dynkin diagrams and derive the corresponding mirror Calabi-Yau manifold. The mirror geometry is uniquely determined in terms of the mirror curve which has also an interpretation in terms of the Seiberg-Witten curve of the four-dimensional theory arising from torus compactification. Adding the affine node of the ADE quiver to the base geometry, we connect to recent results on SYZ mirror symmetry for the A case and provide a physical interpretation in terms of little string theory. Our results, however, go beyond this case as our construction naturally covers the D and E cases as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AdS solutions of massive type IIA have been classified, and are dual to a large class of six-dimensional (1, 0) SCFT's whose tensor branch deformations are described by linear quivers of SU groups. Quivers and AdS vacua depend solely on the group theory data of the NS5-D6-D8 brane configurations engineering the field theories. This has allowed for a direct holographic match of their a conformal anomaly. In this paper we extend the match to cases where O6 and O8-planes are present, thereby introducing SO and USp groups in the quivers. In all of them we show that the a anomaly computed in supergravity agrees with the holographic limit of the exact field theory result, which we extract from the anomaly polynomial. As a byproduct we construct special AdS vacua dual to nonperturbative F-theory configurations. Finally, we propose a holographic a-theorem for six-dimensional Higgs branch RG flows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider structure constants of single trace operators in planar $$ \mathcal{N}=4 $$ Super-Yang-Mills theory within the hexagon framework. The standard procedure for forming a three point function out of two hexagons develops divergences when the effects of virtual particles wrapping around the operators are taken into account. In this paper, we explain how to renormalize these divergences away and obtain definite predictions, at the leading wrapping order, for some of the structure constants that parameterize the OPE of two chiral primaries. We test our method at weak coupling against the four loop planar correction to the BPS-BPS-Konishi OPE coefficient, derived recently in the field theory. At strong coupling, we compare our expressions with the structure constants obtained in string theory for three semiclassical strings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We generalize recent methods regarding the construction of complete prepotentials of five dimensional SCFTs to two classes of rank-N theories, i.e. the X1,N and the UV fixed point of the SU (N + 1)0 + 2(N + 1)F gauge theories. Their complete prepotentials are consistently constructed starting from their weakly coupled descriptions. The results are verified by employing UV dualities and decoupling of flavors from theories with known complete prepotentials. Applications of these results to the recent investigation of non-supersymmetric conformal field theories from soft supersymmetric breaking deformations are addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose two novel methods for computing the superconformal index of 5d superconformal field theories that cannot be described by conventional Lagrangian descriptions under mass deformations. The first approach involves the use of Higgs branch flows from UV Lagrangian theories, guided by transitions in 5-brane webs in Type IIB string theory. The second method employs the relationship between O7+-plane and O7−-plane with eight D7-branes, which applies to particular non-Lagrangian theories realized by brane configurations involving an O7+-plane. As a concrete application of our method, we compute the superconformal indices for all known rank-1 non-Lagrangian theories, which we also use to identify flavor symmetries and their global forms at the conformal field theory (CFT) fixed points. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivated by the recent work on T T ¯ -type deformations of 2D CFTs, a especial class of single-trace deformations of AdS3/CFT2 correspondence has been investigated. From the worldsheet perspective, this corresponds to a marginal deformation of the σ - model on AdS3 that yields a string background that interpolates between AdS3 and a flat linear dilaton solution. Here, with the intention of studying this worldsheet CFT further, we consider it in the presence of a boundary. In a previous paper, we computed different correlation functions of this theory on the disk, including the bulk 1-point function, the boundary-boundary 2-point function, and the bulk-boundary 2-point function. This led us to compute the anomalous dimension of both bulk and boundary vertex operators, which first required a proper regularization of the ultraviolet divergences of the conformal integrals. Here, we extend the analysis by computing the bulk-bulk 2-point function on the disk and other observables on the sphere. We prove that the renormalization of the vertex operators proposed in our previous works is consistent with the form of the sphere N -point functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We generalize the construction of Narain conformal field theories (CFTs) from qudit stabilizer codes to the construction from quantum stabilizer codes over the finite field of prime power order ( F p m with p prime and m ≥ 1) or over the ring ℤk with k > 1. Our construction results in rational CFTs, which cover a larger set of points in the moduli space of Narain CFTs than the previous one. We also propose a correspondence between a quantum stabilizer code with non-zero logical qubits and a finite set of Narain CFTs. We illustrate the correspondence with well-known stabilizer codes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantum complexity has already shed light on CFT states dual to bulk geometries containing spacelike singularities [1–3]. In this work, we turn our attention to the quantum complexity of CFT/quantum gravity states which are dual to bulk geometries containing a naked timelike singularity. The appearance of naked timelike singularities in semiclassical gravity is allowed in string theory, particularly in the context of holography, so long as they satisfy the Gubser criterion [4-5] — those naked timelike singularities which arise as the extremal limits of geometries containing cloaked singularities are admissible. In this work, we use holographic complexity as a probe on geometries containing naked timelike singularities and explore potential relation to the Gubser criterion for detecting allowable naked timelike singularities. We study three specific cases of naked timelike singularities, namely the negative mass Schwarzschild-AdS spacetime, the timelike Kasner-AdS [6] and Einstein-dilaton system [7]. The first two cases are outright ruled out by the Gubser criterion while the third case is more subtle — according to the Gubser criterion the singularity switches from forbidden to admissible as the parameter α is dialed in the range [0, 1] across the transition point at α = 1 / 3 . We probe all three geometries using two holographic complexity prescriptions, namely CA and CV. For the case of the negative mass SAdS and timelike Kasner-AdS4 the complexities display no sign of pathology (both receive finite contribution from the naked singularity). For the Einstein-Dilaton case, action-complexity does display a sharp transition from physical positive values to patholgical negative divergent values (arising from the singularity) as one transcends the Gubser bound. Our study suggests that neither action-complexity (CA) nor volume-complexity (CV) can serve as a sensitive tool to investigate (naked) timelike singularities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the cohomology of local BPS operators in N = 4 Yang-Mills theory. The finite N cohomologies consist of the graviton part (subject to the stringy exclusion principle) and the rest which may describe black hole microstates in quantum AdS/CFT. We construct an infinite tower of non-graviton cohomologies in the SU(2) theory and study to what extent they simulate quantum black holes. We find signals for partial no-hair behaviors by showing that certain gravitons are forbidden to dress these cohomologies. This is in qualitative agreement with the perturbative hairs allowed around black holes, which also leads us to a natural setup to construct hairy BPS black holes. The cohomologies are simpler to study in the BMN matrix model truncation of the classical field theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the S1 × Σ g topologically twisted index and the squashed sphere partition function of various 3d N ≥ 2 holographic superconformal field theories arising from M2-branes. Employing numerical techniques in combination with well-motivated conjectures we provide compact closed-form expressions valid to all orders in the perturbative 1/N expansion for these observables. We also discuss the holographic implications of our results for the topologically twisted index for the dual M-theory Euclidean path integral around asymptotically AdS4 solutions of 11d supergravity. In Lorentzian signature this leads to a prediction for the corrections to the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy of a class of static asymptotically AdS4 BPS black holes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It was demonstrated that a string probe falling radially within a superstratum geometry would experience tidal forces. These tidal forces were shown to excite the string by converting its kinetic energy into stringy excitations. Using the AdS/CFT correspondence we seek to understand this behavior from the perspective of the dual D1D5 CFT. To study this process we turn on an interaction of the theory which is described by a deformation operator. We start with an initial state which is dual to a graviton probe moving within the superstratum geometry. We then use two deformation operators to compute transition amplitudes between this state and a final state that corresponds to stringy excitations. We show that this amplitude grows as t2 with t being the amount of time for which the deformation operators are turned on. We argue that this process in the CFT is suggestive of the tidal effects experienced by the probe propagating within the dual superstratum geometry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The determination of the string vertices of closed string field theory is shown to be a conformal field theory problem solvable by combining insights from Liouville theory, hyperbolic geometry, and conformal bootstrap. We first demonstrate how Strebel differentials arise from hyperbolic string vertices by performing a WKB approximation to the associated Fuchsian equation, which we subsequently use it to derive a Polyakov-like conjecture for Strebel differentials. This result implies that the string vertices are generated by the interactions of n zero momentum tachyons, or equivalently, a certain limit of suitably regularized on-shell Liouville action. We argue that the latter can be related to the interaction of three zero momentum tachyons on a generalized cubic vertex through classical conformal blocks. We test this claim for the quartic vertex and discuss its generalization to higher-string interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

T T ¯ deformed conformal field theories can be reformulated as worldsheet theories of non-critical strings. We use this correspondence to compute and study the T T ¯ deformed partition sum of a symmetric product CFT. We find that it takes the form of a partition sum of a second quantized string theory with a worldsheet given by the product of the seed CFT and a gaussian sigma model with the two-torus as target space. We show that deformed symmetric product theory admits a natural UV completion that exhibits a strong weak coupling ℤ2 duality that interchanges the momentum and winding numbers and maps the T T ¯ -coupling λ to its inverse 1/λ. The ℤ2 duality is part of a full O(2, 2, ℤ)-duality group that includes a PSL(2, ℤ) acting on the complexified T T ¯ coupling. The duality symmetry eliminates the appearance of complex energies at strong coupling for all seed CFTs with central charge c ≤ 6. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the out-of-time-ordered correlator (OTOC) in a zero temperature 2d large-c CFT under evolution by a Liouvillian composed of the Virasoro generators. A bound was conjectured in [1] on the growth of the OTOC set by the Krylov complexity which is a measure of operator growth. The latter grows as an exponential of time with exponent 2α, which sets an upper bound on the Lyapunov exponent, ΛL≤ 2α. We find that for a two dimensional zero temperature CFT, the OTOC decays exponentially with a Lyapunov exponent which saturates this bound. We show that these Virasoro generators form the modular Hamiltonian of the CFT with half space traced out. Therefore, evolution by this modular Hamiltonian gives rise to thermal dynamics in a zero temperature CFT. Leveraging the thermal dynamics of the system, we derive this bound in a zero temperature CFT using the analyticity and boundedness properties of the OTOC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to AdS/CFT duality semi-classical strings in the Schrodinger space- time is conjectured to be a holographic dual to dipole CFT. In this paper we consider pulsating strings in five-dimensional Schrodinger space times five-sphere. We have found classical string solutions pulsating entirely in the Schrodinger part of the background. We quantize the theory semi-classically and obtain the wave function of the problem. We have found the corrections to the energy, which by duality are supposed to give anomalous dimensions of certain operators in the dipole CFT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider strong 't Hooft coupling expansion in special four-dimensional 풩 = 2 superconformal models that are planar-equivalent to 풩 = 4 super Yang-Mills theory. Various observables in these models that admit localization matrix model representation can be expressed at large N in terms of a Fredholm determinant of a Bessel operator. The latter previously appeared in the study of level spacing distributions in matrix models and, more recently, in four-point correlation functions of infinitely heavy half-BPS operators in planar 풩 = 4 SYM. We use this relation and a suitably generalized Szegő-Akhiezer-Kac formula to derive the strong 't Hooft coupling expansion of the leading corrections to free energy, half-BPS circular Wilson loop, and certain correlators of chiral primaries operators in the 풩 = 2 models. This substantially generalizes partial results in the literature and represents a challenge for dual string theory calculations in AdS/CFT context. We also demonstrate that the resulting strong-coupling expansions suffer from Borel singularities and require adding non-perturbative, exponentially suppressed corrections. As a byproduct of our analysis, we determine the non-perturbative correction to the above mentioned four-point correlator in planar 풩 = 4 SYM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We systemically study the Hecke relations and the c = 8k coset relations among 2d rational conformal field theories (RCFTs) with up to seven characters. We propose that the characters of any 2d RCFT — unitary or non-unitary — satisfying a holomorphic modular linear differential equation (MLDE) can be realized as either a Hecke image or the coset of a Hecke image with respect to a c = 8k theory. Benefited from the recent results on holomorphic modular bootstrap, we check this proposal for all admissible theories with up to five characters. We also find many new interesting Hecke relations. For example, the characters of WZW models (E6)2, (E7)2, ( E 7 1 2 )2 can be realized as the Hecke images T13, T19, T19 of Virasoro minimal models Msub(7, 6), M(5, 4), Meff(13, 2) respectively. Besides, we find the characters associated to the second largest Fisher group Fi23 and the Harada-Norton group HN can be realized as the Hecke images T23, T19 of the product theories Meff(5, 2) ⊗ Meff(7, 2) and Meff(7, 2)⊗2 respectively. Mathematically, our study provides a great many interesting examples of vector-valued modular functions up to rank seven. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We construct and thoroughly study a new integrable example of the AdS/CFT correspondence with Schrödinger symmetry. On the gravity side, the supergravity solution depends on two parameters and is obtained by marginally deforming the internal space of the Schrödinger background through a series of TsT transformations. On the field theory side, we identify the dual field theory which also depends on two parameters. We find a point-like string solution and derive its dispersion relation. By using the Landau-Lifshitz coherent state Lagrangian, which originates from field theory, we reproduce the leading, in the deformation parameters, terms of the string theory prediction. This constitutes a non-trivial test of the correspondence. Then, we calculate the Wilson loop, describing the quark/anti-quark potential at strong coupling. It exhibits confining behaviour when the separation length is much less than the Schrödinger parameter. When the separation length is much greater than the Schrödinger parameter the behaviour is that of a conformal theory. Subsequently, we take the Penrose limit along a certain null geodesic of the constructed background and calculate the bosonic spectrum. Based on that spectrum, we make an educated guess for the exact, in the 't Hooft coupling, dispersion relation of the magnon excitations in the original doubly deformed background. This provides us with an exact prediction for the dimensions of the dual field theory operators. This applies to operators of large length, for which finite size corrections are suppressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent holographic analyses on IIA and IIB models of moduli stabilization have led to many interesting results. Here we extend this approach to M-Theory. We consider both flux-stabilized models and non-perturbative stabilization methods. We perform a holographic analysis to determine the spectrum of the assumed dual CFT3 to see its AdS/CFT implication. For the flux stabilization, which relies on a large complex Chern-Simons invariant, moduli have integer dimensions similar to the DGKT flux-stabilized model in type IIA. For the non-perturbative stabilization, the results are similar to racetrack models in type IIB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The duality between a d-dimensional conformal field theory with relevant deformation and a gravity theory on an asymptotically AdSd+1 geometry, has become a suitable tool in the investigation of the emergence of gravity from quantum entanglement in field theory. Recently, we have tested the duality between the mass-deformed ABJM theory and asymptotically AdS4 gravity theory, which is obtained from the KK reduction of the 11-dimensional supergravity on the LLM geometry. In this paper, we extend the KK reduction procedure beyond the linear order and establish non-trivial KK maps between 4-dimensional fields and 11-dimensional fluctuations. We rely on this gauge/gravity duality to calculate the entanglement entropy by using the Ryu-Takayanagi holographic formula and the path integral method developed by Faulkner. We show that the entanglement entropies obtained using these two methods agree when the asymptotically AdS4 metric satisfies the linearized Einstein equation with nonvanishing energy-momentum tensor for two scalar fields. These scalar fields encode the information of the relevant deformation of the ABJM theory. This confirms that the asymptotic limit of LLM geometry is the emergent gravity of the quantum entanglement in the mass-deformed ABJM theory with a small mass parameter. We also comment on the issue of the relative entropy and the Fisher information in our setup. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, a worldsheet dual to free N = 4 Super Yang-Mills has been proposed in terms of twistor variables for AdS5, in parallel to that for the AdS3 dual to the free symmetric orbifold CFT. In the latter case, holomorphic covering maps play a central role in determining correlators and are associated to Feynman diagrams. After recasting these maps in terms of the worldsheet twistor variables for AdS3, we generalise to AdS5. We propose stringy incidence relations and appropriate reality conditions for the twistor covering maps. For some special kinematic configurations of correlators, we exhibit an explicit construction of the corresponding covering map. We find that the closed string worldsheet corresponding to this map is related to a gauge theory Feynman diagram by the Strebel construction, as for AdS3/CFT2. Rather strikingly, the regularised Strebel area of the worldsheet reproduces the Feynman propagator of the free field theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider the backreaction of the winding condensate on the cigar background. We focus on the case of the SL(2, ℝ)k/U(1) cigar associated with, e.g., the near-horizon limit of k NS5 black-branes. We solve the equations of motion numerically in the large k limit as a function of the amplitude, A, of the winding mode at infinity. We find that there is a critical amplitude, Ac = exp(−γ/2), that admits a critical solution. In string theory, the exact SL(2, ℝ)k/U(1) cigar CFT fixes completely the winding amplitude, As, at infinity. We find that in the large k limit there is an exact agreement, Ac = As. The critical solution is a cigar with a puncture at its tip; consequently, the black-hole entropy is carried entirely by the winding condensate. We argue that, in the Lorentzian case, the information escapes the black hole through this puncture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study two-point functions of local operators and their spectral representation in UV complete quantum field theories in generic dimensions focusing on conserved currents and the stress-tensor. We establish the connection with the central charges of the UV and IR fixed points. We re-derive "c-theorems" in 2d and show the absence of their direct analogs in higher dimensions. We conclude by focusing on quantum field theories with a mass gap. We study the stress tensor two-particle form factor, derive implications of unitarity and define concrete bootstrap problems in generic dimensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivated by questions about quantum information and classification of quantum field theories, we consider Conformal Field Theories (CFTs) in spacetime dimension d ≥ 5 with a conformally-invariant spatial boundary (BCFTs) or 4-dimensional conformal defect (DCFTs). We determine the boundary or defect contribution to the Weyl anomaly using the standard algorithm, which includes imposing Wess-Zumino consistency and fixing finite counterterms. These boundary/defect contributions are built from the intrinsic and extrinsic curvatures, as well as the pullback of the ambient CFT's Weyl tensor. For a co-dimension one boundary or defect (i.e. d = 5), we reproduce the 9 parity-even terms found by Astaneh and Solodukhin, and we discover 3 parity-odd terms. For larger co-dimension, we find 23 parity-even terms and 6 parity-odd terms. The coefficient of each term defines a "central charge" that characterizes the BCFT or DCFT. We show how several of the parity-even central charges enter physical observables, namely the displacement operator two-point function, the stress-tensor one-point function, and the universal part of the entanglement entropy. We compute several parity-even central charges in tractable examples: monodromy and conical defects of free, massless scalars and Dirac fermions in d = 6; probe branes in Anti-de Sitter (AdS) space dual to defects in CFTs with d ≥ 6; and Takayanagi's AdS/BCFT with d = 5. We demonstrate that several of our examples obey the boundary/defect a-theorem, as expected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conformal defects describe the universal behaviors of a conformal field theory (CFT) in the presence of a boundary or more general impurities. The coupled critical system is characterized by new conformal anomalies which are analogous to, and generalize those of standalone CFTs. Here we study the conformal a- and c-anomalies of four dimensional defects in CFTs of general spacetime dimensions greater than four. We prove that under unitary defect renormalization group (RG) flows, the defect a-anomaly must decrease, thus establishing the defect a-theorem. For conformal defects preserving minimal supersymmetry, the full defect symmetry contains a distinguished U(1)R subgroup. We derive the anomaly multiplet relations that express the defect a- and c-anomalies in terms of the defect (mixed) 't Hooft anomalies for this U(1)R symmetry. Once the U(1)R symmetry is identified using the defect a-maximization principle which we prove, this enables a non-perturbative pathway to the conformal anomalies of strongly coupled defects. We illustrate our methods by discussing a number of examples including boundaries in five dimensions and codimension-two defects in six dimensions. We also comment on chiral algebra sectors of defect operator algebras and potential conformal collider bounds on defect anomalies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

String theory on AdS3 × S3 × T 4 with one unit (k = 1) of NS-NS flux is considered in the hybrid formalism of Berkovits, Vafa & Witten (BVW). Using the free field realisation of the world-sheet theory at k = 1, we identify explicitly the BRST cohomology classes corresponding to some of the low-lying states of the dual CFT. In particular, we do this for the N = 4 superconformal generators of the symmetric orbifold theory, and we confirm these identifications by showing that the worldsheet correlators reproduce the expected dual CFT answer. Along the way we note that the physical vertex operators on the worldsheet have a simpler form if one works with a different, but equivalent, choice for the BRST operators relative to BVW. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the emergence of topological defect lines in the conformal Regge limit of two-dimensional conformal field theory. We explain how a local operator can be factorized into a holomorphic and an anti-holomorphic defect operator connected through a topological defect line, and discuss implications on analyticity and Lorentzian dynamics including aspects of chaos. We derive a formula relating the infinite boost limit, which holographically encodes the "opacity" of bulk scattering, to the action of topological defect lines on local operators. Leveraging the unitary bound on the opacity and the positivity of fusion coefficients, we show that the spectral radii of a large class of topological defect lines are given by their loop expectation values. Factorization also gives a formula relating the local and defect operator algebras and fusion categorical data. We then review factorization in rational conformal field theory from a defect perspective, and examine irrational theories. On the orbifold branch of the c = 1 free boson theory, we find a unified description for the topological defect lines through which the twist fields are factorized; at irrational points, the twist fields factorize through "non-compact" topological defect lines which exhibit continuous defect operator spectra. Along the way, we initiate the development of a formalism to characterize non-compact topological defect lines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the disk partition function for the open string. This is a subtle problem because of the presence of a residual gauge group PSL(2, ℝ) on the worldsheet even after fixing the conformal gauge. It naively has infinite volume and leads to a vanishing answer. We use different methods that all demonstrate that PSL(2, ℝ) effectively behaves like a group with finite negative volume in the path integral, which leads to a simple prescription for the computation of the disk partition function. We apply our findings to give a simple rederivation of the D-brane tensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the behavior of Rényi entropies for pure states from standard assumptions about chaos in the high-energy spectrum of the Hamiltonian of a many-body quantum system. We compute the exact long-time averages of Rényi entropies and show that the quantum noise around these values is exponentially suppressed in the microcanonical entropy. For delocalized states over the microcanonical band, the long-time average approximately reproduces the equilibration proposal of H. Liu and S. Vardhan, with extra structure arising at the order of non-planar permutations. We analyze the equilibrium approximation for AdS/CFT systems describing black holes in equilibrium in a box. We extend our analysis to the situation of an evaporating black hole, and comment on the possible gravitational description of the new terms in our approximation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study co-dimension two monodromy defects in theories of conformally coupled scalars and free Dirac fermions in arbitrary d dimensions. We characterise this family of conformal defects by computing the one-point functions of the stress-tensor and conserved current for Abelian flavour symmetries as well as two-point functions of the displacement operator. In the case of d = 4, the normalisation of these correlation functions are related to defect Weyl anomaly coefficients, and thus provide crucial information about the defect conformal field theory. We provide explicit checks on the values of the defect central charges by calculating the universal part of the defect contribution to entanglement entropy, and further, we use our results to extract the universal part of the vacuum Rényi entropy. Moreover, we leverage the non-supersymmetric free field results to compute a novel defect Weyl anomaly coefficient in a d = 4 theory of free N = 2 hypermultiplets. Including singular modes in the defect operator product expansion of fundamental fields, we identify notable relevant deformations in the singular defect theories and show that they trigger a renormalisation group flow towards an IR fixed point with the most regular defect OPE. We also study Gukov-Witten defects in free d = 4 Maxwell theory and show that their central charges vanish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We employ a non-compact gauging of four-dimensional maximal supergravity to construct a two-parameter family of AdS4 J-fold solutions preserving N = 2 supersymmetry. All solutions preserve u (1) × u (1) global symmetry and in special limits we recover the previously known su (2) × u (1) invariant N = 2 and su (2) × su (2) invariant N = 4 J-fold solutions. This family of AdS4 backgrounds can be uplifted to type IIB string theory and is holographically dual to the conformal manifold of a class of three-dimensional S-fold SCFTs obtained from the N = 4 T [U(N)] theory of Gaiotto-Witten. We find the spectrum of supergravity excitations of the AdS4 solutions and use it to study how the operator spectrum of the three-dimensional SCFT depends on the exactly marginal couplings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe the effect of the marginal deformation of the N = (4, 4) super-conformal (T4)N/SN orbifold theory on a doublet of R-neutral twisted Ramond fields, in the large-N approximation. Our analysis of their dynamics explores the explicit analytic form of the genus-zero four-point function involving two R-neutral Ramond fields and two deformation operators. We compute this correlation function with two different approaches: the Lunin-Mathur path-integral technique and the stress-tensor method. From its short distance limits, we extract the OPE structure constants and the scaling dimensions of non-BPS fields appearing in the fusion. In the deformed CFT, at second order in the deformation parameter, the two-point function of the n-twisted Ramond fields is UV-divergent. We perform an appropriate regularization, together with a renormalization of the undeformed fields, obtaining finite, well-defined corrections to their two-point functions and their bare conformal weights, for n < N. The fields with maximal twist n = N remain protected from renormalization, with vanishing anomalous dimensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some AdS3 × M7 type IIB vacua have been recently proposed to arise from D3-branes wrapped on a spindle, a sphere with conical singularities at the poles. We explicitly construct a generalization of these solutions corresponding to a class of electrically charged and rotating supersymmetric black strings in AdS5 × S5 with general magnetic fluxes on the spindle. We then perform a counting of their microstates using the charged Cardy formula. To this purpose, we derive the general form of the anomaly polynomial of the dual N = (0, 2) CFT in two dimensions and we show that it can be obtained via a simple gluing procedure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the behavior of the Ramond ground states in the D1-D5 CFT after a deformation of the free-orbifold sigma model on target space ( T 4 )N/SN by a marginal interaction operator. These states are compositions of Ramond ground states of the twisted and untwisted sectors. They are characterized by a conjugacy class of SN and by the set of their "spins", including both R-charge and "internal" SU(2) charge. We compute the four-point functions of an arbitrary Ramond ground state with its conjugate and two interaction operators, for genus-zero covering surfaces representing the leading orders in the large-N expansion. We examine short distance limits of these four-point functions, shedding light on the dynamics of the interacting theory. We find the OPEs and a collection of structure constants of the ground states with the interaction operators and a set of resulting non-BPS twisted operators. We also calculate the integrals of the four-point functions over the positions of the interaction operators and show that they vanish. This provides an explicit demonstration that the Ramond ground states remain protected against deformations away of the free orbifold point, as expected from algebraic considerations using the spectral flow of the N = (4, 4) superconformal algebra with central charge c = 6N. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]