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We examine the thermodynamics of a near-extremal Kerr black hole, and demonstrate that the geometry behaves as an ordinary quantum system with a vanishingly small degeneracy at low temperatures. This is in contrast with the classical analysis, which instead predicts a macroscopic entropy for the extremal Kerr black hole. Our results follow from a careful analysis of the gravitational path integral. Specifically, the low temperature canonical partition function behaves as Z∼T32eS0+clogS0, with S0 the classical degeneracy and c a numerical coefficient we compute. This is in line with the general expectations for non-supersymmetric near-extremal black hole thermodynamics, as has been clarified in the recent past, although cases without spherical symmetry have not yet been fully analyzed until now. We also point out some curious features relating to the rotational zero modes of the near-extremal Kerr black hole background that affects the coefficient c. This raises a puzzle when considering similar black holes in string theory. Our results generalize to other rotating black holes, as we briefly exemplify.

After averaging over fermion couplings, SYK has a collective field description that sometimes has "wormhole" solutions. We study the fate of these wormholes when the couplings are fixed. Working mainly in a simple model, we find that the wormhole saddles persist, but that new saddles also appear elsewhere in the integration space — "half-wormholes." The wormhole contributions depend only weakly on the specific choice of couplings, while the half-wormhole contributions are strongly sensitive. The half-wormholes are crucial for factorization of decoupled systems with fixed couplings, but they vanish after averaging, leaving the non-factorizing wormhole behind. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider a quantum scalar field in a classical (Euclidean) De Sitter background, whose radius is fixed dynamically by Einstein's equations. In the case of a free scalar, it has been shown by Becker and Reuter that if one regulates the quantum effective action by putting a cutoff N on the modes of the quantum field, the radius is driven dynamically to infinity when N tends to infinity. We show that this result holds also in the case of a self-interacting scalar, both in the symmetric and broken-symmetry phase. Furthermore, when the gravitational background is put on shell, the quantum corrections to the mass and quartic self-coupling are found to be finite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract We conjecture a multi-parameter generalization of the toric inequalities of [1]. We then extend their proof methods for the generalized toric inequalities in two ways. The first extension constructs the graph corresponding to the toric inequalities and the generalized toric conjectures by tiling the Euclidean space. An entanglement wedge nesting relation then determines the geometric structure of the tiles. In the second extension, we exploit the cyclic nature of the inequalities and conjectures to construct cycle graphs. Then, the graph can be obtained using graph Cartesian products of cycle graphs. In addition, we define a set of knots on the graph by following [1]. These graphs with knots then imply the validity of their associated inequality. We study the case where the graph can be decomposed into disjoint unions of torii. Under the specific case, we explore and prove the conjectures for some ranges of parameters. We also discuss ways to explore the conjectured inequalities whose corresponding geometries are d-dimensional torii (d > 2).

Abstract We derive higher moments in the statistical distribution of OPE coefficients in holographic 2D CFTs, and show that such moments correspond to multiboundary Euclidean wormholes in pure 3D gravity. The nth cyclic non-Gaussian contraction of heavy-heavy-light OPE coefficients follows from crossing symmetry of the thermal n-point function. We derive universal expressions for the cubic and quartic moments and demonstrate that their scaling with the microcanonical entropy agrees with a generalization of the Eigenstate Thermalization Hypothesis. Motivated by this result, we conjecture that the full statistical ensemble of OPE data is fixed by three premises: typicality, crossing symmetry and modular invariance. Together, these properties give predictions for non-factorizing observables, such as the generalized spectral form factor. Using the Virasoro TQFT, we match these connected averages to new on-shell wormhole topologies with multiple boundary components. Lastly, we study and clarify examples where the statistics of heavy operators are not universal and depend on the light operator spectrum. We give a gravitational interpretation to these corrections in terms of Wilson loops winding around non-trivial cycles in the bulk.

Abstract Simplicial approaches to quantum gravity such as quantum Regge calculus and spin foams include configurations where bulk edges can become arbitrarily large while the boundary edges are kept small. Spikes and spines are prime examples for such configurations. They pose a significant challenge for a desired continuum limit, for which the average lengths of edges ought to become very small. Here we investigate spike and spine configurations in four-dimensional Lorentzian quantum Regge calculus. We find that the expectation values of arbitrary powers of the bulk length are finite. To that end, we explore new types of asymptotic regimes for the Regge amplitudes, in which some of the edges are much larger than the remaining ones. The amplitudes simplify considerably in such asymptotic regimes and the geometric interpretation of the resulting expressions involves a dimensional reduction, which might have applications to holography.

Abstract We consider a version of the typical state firewall setup recently reintroduced by Stanford and Yang, who found that wormholes may create firewalls. We examine a late-time scaling limit in JT gravity in which one can resum the expansion in the number of wormholes, and we use this to study the exact distribution of interior slices at times exponential in the entropy. We consider a thermofield double with and without early perturbations on a boundary. These perturbations can appear on interior slices as dangerous high energy shockwaves. For exponentially late times, wormholes tend to teleport the particles created by perturbations and render the interior more dangerous. In states with many perturbations separated by large times, the probability of a safe interior is exponentially small, even though these would be safe without wormholes. With perturbation, even in the safest state we conceive, the odds of encountering a shock are fifty-fifty. One interpretation of the phenomenon is that wormholes can change time-ordered contours into effective out-of-time-ordered folds, making shockwaves appear in unexpected places.

Abstract How can we define complexity in dS space from microscopic principles? Based on recent developments pointing towards a correspondence between a pair of double-scaled Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev (DSSYK) models/ 2D Liouville-de Sitter (LdS2) field theory/ 3D Schwarzschild de Sitter (SdS3) space in [1–3], we study concrete complexity proposals in the microscopic models and their dual descriptions. First, we examine the spread complexity of the maximal entropy state of the doubled DSSYK model. We show that it counts the number of entangled chord states in its doubled Hilbert space. We interpret spread complexity in terms of a time difference between antipodal observers in SdS3 space, and a boundary time difference of the dual LdS2 CFTs. This provides a new connection between entanglement and geometry in dS space. Second, Krylov complexity, which describes operator growth, is computed for physical operators on all sides of the correspondence. Their late time evolution behaves as expected for chaotic systems. Later, we define the query complexity in the LdS2 model as the number of steps in an algorithm computing n-point correlation functions of boundary operators of the corresponding antipodal points in SdS3 space. We interpret query complexity as the number of matter operator chord insertions in a cylinder amplitude in the DSSYK, and the number of junctions of Wilson lines between antipodal static patch observers in SdS3 space. Finally, we evaluate a specific proposal of Nielsen complexity for the DSSYK model and comment on its possible dual manifestations.

Abstract Out-of-time-ordered-correlators (OTOCs) have been suggested as a means to diagnose chaotic behavior in quantum mechanical systems. Recently, it was found that OTOCs display exponential growth for the inverted quantum harmonic oscillator, mirroring the fact that this system is classically and quantum mechanically unstable. In this work, I study OTOCs for the inverted anharmonic (pure quartic) oscillator in quantum mechanics, finding only oscillatory behavior despite the classically unstable nature of the system. For higher temperature, OTOCs seem to exhibit saturation consistent with a value of –2⟨x 2⟩ T ⟨p 2⟩ T at late times. I provide analytic evidence from the spectral zeta-function and the WKB method as well as direct numerical solutions of the Schrödinger equation that the inverted quartic oscillator possesses a real and positive energy eigenspectrum, and normalizable wave-functions.

Abstract The two-point correlation function of a massive field ⟨χ(τ)χ(0)⟩, measured along an observer’s worldline in de Sitter (dS), decays exponentially as τ → ∞. Meanwhile, every dS observer is surrounded by a horizon and the holographic interpretation of the horizon entropy S dS suggests that the correlation function should stop decaying, and start behaving erratically at late times. We find evidence for this expectation in Jackiw-Teitelboim gravity by finding a topologically nontrivial saddle, which is suppressed by e − S dS $$ {e}^{-{S}_{\textrm{dS}}} $$ , and which gives a constant contribution to | ⟨χ(τ)χ(0)⟩ |2. This constant might have the interpretation of the late-time average of | ⟨χ(τ)χ(0)⟩ |2 over all microscopic theories that have the same low-energy effective description.

Abstract In AdS/CFT partition functions of decoupled copies of the CFT factorize. In bulk computations of such quantities contributions from spacetime wormholes which link separate asymptotic boundaries threaten to spoil this property, leading to a “factorization puzzle.” Certain simple models like JT gravity have wormholes, but bulk computations in them correspond to averages over an ensemble of boundary systems. These averages need not factorize. We can formulate a toy version of the factorization puzzle in such models by focusing on a specific member of the ensemble where partition functions will again factorize. As Coleman and Giddings-Strominger pointed out in the 1980s, fixed members of ensembles are described in the bulk by “α-states” in a many-universe Hilbert space. In this paper we analyze in detail the bulk mechanism for factorization in such α-states in the topological model introduced by Marolf and Maxfield (the “MM model”) and in JT gravity. In these models geometric calculations in α states are poorly controlled. We circumvent this complication by working in approximate α states where bulk calculations just involve the simplest topologies: disks and cylinders. One of our main results is an effective description of the factorization mechanism. In this effective description the many-universe contributions from the full α state are replaced by a small number of effective boundaries. Our motivation in constructing this effective description, and more generally in studying these simple ensemble models, is that the lessons learned might have wider applicability. In fact the effective description lines up with a recent discussion of the SYK model with fixed couplings [1]. We conclude with some discussion about the possible applicability of this effective model in more general contexts.

Abstract Recent works by Chandrasekaran, Penington, and Witten have shown in various special contexts that the quantum-corrected Ryu-Takayanagi (RT) entropy (or its covariant Hubeny-Rangamani-Takayanagi (HRT) generalization) can be understood as computing an entropy on an algebra of bulk observables. These arguments do not rely on the existence of a local holographic dual field theory. We show that analogous-but-stronger results hold in any UV-completion of asymptotically anti-de Sitter quantum gravity with a Euclidean path integral satisfying a simple and (largely) familiar set of axioms. We consider a quantum context in which a standard Lorentz-signature classical bulk limit would have Cauchy slices with asymptotic boundaries B L ⊔ B R where both B L and B R are compact manifolds without boundary. Our main result is then that (the UV-completion of) the quantum gravity path integral defines type I von Neumann algebras A L B L $$ {\mathcal{A}}_L^{B_L} $$ , A R B R $$ {\mathcal{A}}_R^{B_R} $$ of observables acting respectively at B L , B R such that A L B L $$ {\mathcal{A}}_L^{B_L} $$ , A R B R $$ {\mathcal{A}}_R^{B_R} $$ are commutants. The path integral also defines entropies on A L B L $$ {\mathcal{A}}_L^{B_L} $$ , A R B R $$ {\mathcal{A}}_R^{B_R} $$ . Positivity of the Hilbert space inner product then turns out to require the entropy of any projection operator to be quantized in the form ln N for some N ∈ ℤ + (unless it is infinite). As a result, our entropies can be written in terms of standard density matrices and standard Hilbert space traces. Furthermore, in appropriate semiclassical limits our entropies are computed by the RT-formula with quantum corrections. Our work thus provides a Hilbert space interpretation of the Ryu-Takayanagi entropy. Since our axioms do not severely constrain UV bulk structures, it is plausible that they hold equally well for successful formulations of string field theory, spin-foam models, or any other approach to constructing a UV-complete theory of gravity.

Abstract We propose an algorithm which builds a concrete dual for large-radius 3d de Sitter with a timelike York boundary for both gravity and bulk effective fields. This generalizes the solvable T T ¯ $$ T\overline{T} $$ + Λ2 deformation, whose finite real spectrum accounts for the refined Gibbons-Hawking entropy as a microstate count while reproducing the radial static patch geometry. The required generalization to produce approximately local boundary conditions for bulk quantum fields requires a scheme for defining double-trace operators dual to deformed boundary conditions to realize the finite timelike boundary, valid at finite N. By starting with a small stint of a pure T T ¯ $$ T\overline{T} $$ trajectory, the theory becomes finite, enabling well-defined subtractions to define the double-trace deformation so as to match the large-N prescription of Hartman, Kruthoff, Shaghoulian, and Tajdini to good approximation. We incorporate the matter effecting an uplift from negative to positive cosmological constant, and analyze the effect of matter on the energy spectrum of the theory arising from time-dependent bulk excitations. This validates the cosmic horizon dS 3 microstate count for large-radius dS 3 holography, embedding T T ¯ $$ T\overline{T} $$ + Λ2 concretely into a larger theory consistent with bulk locality for matter fields. We comment briefly on potential upgrades to four dimensions and other future directions.

Abstract Observables in quantum gravity are famously defined asymptotically, at the boundary of AdS or Minkowski spaces. However, by gauge fixing a coordinate system or suitably dressing the field operators, an approximate, “quasi-local” approach is also possible, that can give account of the measurements performed by a set of observers living inside the spacetime. In particular, one can attach spatial coordinates to the worldlines of these observers and use their proper times as a time coordinate. Here we highlight that any such local formulation has to face the relativity of the event, in that changing frame (= set of observers) implies a reshuffling of the point-events and the way they are identified. As a consequence, coordinate transformations between different frames become probabilistic in quantum gravity. We give a concrete realization of this mechanism in Jackiw-Teitelboim gravity, where a point in the bulk can be defined operationally with geodesics anchored to the boundary. We describe different ways to do so, each corresponding to a different frame, and compute the variances of the transformations relating some of these frames. In particular, we compute the variance of the location of the black hole horizon, which appears smeared in most frames. We then suggest how to calculate this effect in Einstein gravity, assuming knowledge of the wavefunction of the metric. The idea is to expand the latter on a basis of semiclassical states. Each element of this basis enjoys standard/deterministic coordinate transformations and the result is thus obtained by superposition. As a divertissement, we sabotage Lorentz boosts by adding to Minkoswki space a quantum superposition of gravitational waves and compute the probabilistic coordinate transformation to a boosted frame at linear order. Finally, we attempt to translate the relativity of the event into the language of dressed operators.

Abstract We use hyperbolic tensor networks to construct a holographic map for black hole interiors that adds a notion of locality to the non-isometric codes proposed by Akers, Engelhardt, Harlow, Penington, and Vardhan. We use tools provided by these networks to study the relationship between non-isometries and quantum extremal surfaces behind the horizon. Furthermore, we introduce a limited notion of dynamics for these interior tensor networks based on the qudit models introduced by Akers et al., and study the evolution of quantum extremal surfaces in an evaporating black hole. We also find a tensor network description of a wormhole connecting the black hole interior to the radiation, providing a mechanism for interior states and operators to be encoded in the radiation after the Page time. As a particular case, we construct a tensor network realization of the backwards-forwards maps recently proposed to incorporate non-trivial effective dynamics in dynamical constructions of these non-isometric black hole codes.

Abstract The canonical (CQG) and asymptotically safe (ASQG) approach to quantum gravity share to be both non-perturbative programmes. However, apart from that they seem to differ in several aspects such as: 1. Signature: CQG is Lorentzian while ASQG is mostly Euclidian. 2. Background Independence (BI): CQG is manifesly BI while ASQG is apparently not. 3. Truncations: CQG is apparently free of truncations while ASQG makes heavy use of them. The purpose of the present work is to either overcome actual differences or to explain why apparent differences are actually absent. Thereby we intend to enhance the contact and communication between the two communities. The focus of this contribution is on conceptual issues rather than deep technical details such has high order truncations. On the other hand the paper tries to be self-contained in order to be useful to researchers from both communities. The point of contact is the path integral formulation of Lorentzian CQG in its reduced phase space formulation which yields the formal generating functional of physical (i.e. gauge invariant) either Schwinger or Feynman N-point functions for (relational) observables. The corresponding effective actions of these generating functionals can then be subjected to the ASQG Wetterich type flow equations which serve in particular to find the rigorous generating fuctionals via the inverse Legendre transform of the fixed pointed effective action.

Abstract We determine explicit expressions for the continuous two-sided gravitational wavefunctions in supersymmetric versions of JT gravity, focusing mainly on N $$ \mathcal{N} $$ = 2 JT supergravity. Our approach is based on representation theory of the associated supergroup, for which we determine the relevant mixed parabolic matrix elements that implement asymptotic AdS boundary conditions at the quantum level. We match our expressions with those found by solving the energy-eigenvalue equation [1]. We discuss gravitational applications by computing several amplitudes of interest, and address how our framework can be generalized further.

Abstract Modular Berry transport is a useful way to understand how geometric bulk information is encoded in the boundary CFT: the modular curvature is directly related to the bulk Riemann curvature. We extend this approach by studying modular transport in the presence of a non-trivial quantum extremal surface. Focusing on JT gravity on an AdS background coupled to a non-gravitating bath, we compute the modular curvature of an interval in the bath in the presence of an island: the Quantum Extremal Modular Curvature (QEMC). We highlight some important properties of the QEMC, most importantly that it is non-local in general. In an OPE limit, the QEMC becomes local and probes the bulk Riemann curvature in regions with an island. Our work gives a new approach to probe physics behind horizons.

Abstract We consider a quantum scalar field in a classical (Euclidean) De Sitter background, whose radius is fixed dynamically by Einstein’s equations. In the case of a free scalar, it has been shown by Becker and Reuter that if one regulates the quantum effective action by putting a cutoff N on the modes of the quantum field, the radius is driven dynamically to infinity when N tends to infinity. We show that this result holds also in the case of a self-interacting scalar, both in the symmetric and broken-symmetry phase. Furthermore, when the gravitational background is put on shell, the quantum corrections to the mass and quartic self-coupling are found to be finite.

Abstract After averaging over fermion couplings, SYK has a collective field description that sometimes has “wormhole” solutions. We study the fate of these wormholes when the couplings are fixed. Working mainly in a simple model, we find that the wormhole saddles persist, but that new saddles also appear elsewhere in the integration space — “half-wormholes.” The wormhole contributions depend only weakly on the specific choice of couplings, while the half-wormhole contributions are strongly sensitive. The half-wormholes are crucial for factorization of decoupled systems with fixed couplings, but they vanish after averaging, leaving the non-factorizing wormhole behind.

Abstract A key issue in both the field of quantum chaos and quantum gravity is an effective description of chaotic conformal field theories (CFTs), that is CFTs that have a quantum ergodic limit. We develop a framework incorporating the constraints of conformal symmetry and locality, allowing the definition of ensembles of ‘CFT data’. These ensembles take on the same role as the ensembles of random Hamiltonians in more conventional quantum ergodic phases of many-body quantum systems. To describe individual members of the ensembles, we introduce the notion of approximate CFT, defined as a collection of ‘CFT data’ satisfying the usual CFT constraints approximately, i.e. up to small deviations. We show that they generically exist by providing concrete examples. Ensembles of approximate CFTs are very natural in holography, as every member of the ensemble is indistinguishable from a true CFT for low-energy probes that only have access to information from semi-classical gravity. To specify these ensembles, we impose successively higher moments of the CFT constraints. Lastly, we propose a theory of pure gravity in AdS3 as a random matrix/tensor model implementing approximate CFT constraints. This tensor model is the maximum ignorance ensemble compatible with conformal symmetry, crossing invariance, and a primary gap to the black-hole threshold. The resulting theory is a random matrix/tensor model governed by the Virasoro 6j-symbol.

Abstract The flat/CFT dictionary between the bulk gravitational theory and boundary conformal field theory is systematically developed in this paper. Asymptotically flat spacetime is built up by asymptotically AdS hyperboloid slices in terms of Fefferman Graham coordinates together with soft modes propagating between different slices near the null boundary. Then we construct the flat holography dictionary based on studying the Einstein equation at zero and first order and it turns out that these correspond to the description of hard and soft sector for the field theory from the boundary point of view. The explicit expression for energy-stress tensor is also determined by performing holographic renormalisation on the Einstein Hilbert action. By studying the anomalies of the energy-stress tensor, we obtain the leading and subleading contribution to the central charge. Einstein equations in the bulk are related to the Ward identities of the boundary theory and we find that the boundary CFT energy-stress tensor is not conserved due to the existence of radiative soft modes which will generate the energy flow through the null boundary.

Abstract We conjecture a formula for the spectral form factor of a double-scaled matrix integral in the limit of large time, large density of states, and fixed temperature. The formula has a genus expansion with a nonzero radius of convergence. To understand the origin of this series, we compare to the semiclassical theory of “encounters” in periodic orbits. In Jackiw-Teitelboim (JT) gravity, encounters correspond to portions of the moduli space integral that mutually cancel (in the orientable case) but individually grow at low energies. At genus one we show how the full moduli space integral resolves the low energy region and gives a finite nonzero answer.

Abstract We discuss the conical region of convergence of exponential and asymptotically polynomial form factors and their integral representations. Then, we calculate the spectral representation of the propagator of nonlocal theories with entire form factors, in particular, of the above type. The spectral density is positive-definite and exhibits the same spectrum as the local theory. We also find that the piece of the propagator corresponding to the time-ordered two-point correlation function admits a generalization of the Källén-Lehmann representation with a standard momentum dependence and a spectral density differing from the local one only in the presence of interactions. These results are in agreement with what already known about the free theory after a field redefinition and about perturbative unitarity of the interacting theory. The spectral and Källén-Lehmann representations have the same standard local limit, which is recovered smoothly when sending the fundamental length scale ℓ * in the form factor to zero.

Abstract Spacetime wormholes can provide non-perturbative contributions to the gravitational path integral that make the actual number of states e S in a gravitational system much smaller than the number of states e S p $$ {e}^{S_{\textrm{p}}} $$ predicted by perturbative semiclassical effective field theory. The effects on the physics of the system are naturally profound in contexts in which the perturbative description actively involves N = O(e S ) of the possible e S p $$ {e}^{S_{\textrm{p}}} $$ perturbative states; e.g., in late stages of black hole evaporation. Such contexts are typically associated with the existence of non-trivial quantum extremal surfaces. However, by forcing a simple topological gravity model to evolve in time, we find that such effects can also have large impact for N ≪ e S (in which case no quantum extremal surfaces can arise). In particular, even for small N, the insertion of generic operators into the path integral can cause the non-perturbative time evolution to differ dramatically from perturbative expectations. On the other hand, this discrepancy is small for the special case where the inserted operators are non-trivial only in a subspace of dimension D ≪ e S . We thus study this latter case in detail. We also discuss potential implications for more realistic gravitational systems.

Abstract We present a new picture of the early universe in finite nonlocal quantum gravity, which is Weyl invariant at the classical and quantum levels. The high-energy regime of the theory consists of two phases, a Weyl invariant trans-Planckian phase and a post-Planckian or Higgs phase described by an action quadratic in the Ricci tensor and where the cosmos evolves according to the standard radiation-dominated model. In the first phase, all the issues of the hot big bang such as the singularity, flatness, and horizon problems find a universal and simple non-inflationary solution by means of Weyl invariance, regardless of the microscopic details of the theory. In the second phase, once Weyl symmetry is spontaneously broken, primordial perturbations are generated around a background that asymptotically evolves as a radiation-dominated flat Friedmann-Lemaître-Robertson-Walker universe.

Abstract We continue the series of articles on the application of Landau-Ginzburg mean-field theory to unveil the basic phase structure of tensorial field theories which are characterized by combinatorially non-local interactions. Among others, this class covers tensor field theories (TFT) which lead to a new class of conformal field theories highly relevant for investigations on the AdS/CFT conjecture. Moreover, it also encompasses models within the tensorial group field theory (TGFT) approach to quantum gravity. Crucially, in the infrared we find that the effective mass of the modes relevant for the critical behavior vanishes not only at criticality but also throughout the entire phase of non-vanishing vacuum expectation value due to the non-locality of the interactions. As a consequence, one encounters there the emergence of scale invariance on configuration space which is potentially enhanced to conformal invariance thereon.

Abstract We propose a generalized protocol for constructing a dual free bulk theory from any boundary model of generalized free fields (GFFs). To construct the bulk operators, we employ a linear ansatz similar to the Hamilton-Kabat-Liftschytz-Lowe (HKLL) construction. However, unlike the HKLL construction, our protocol relies only on boundary data with no presupposed form for the bulk equations of motion, so our reconstructed bulk is fully emergent. For a (1+1)d bulk, imposing the bulk operator algebra as well as a causal structure is sufficient to determine the bulk operators and dynamics uniquely up to an unimportant local basis choice. We study the bulk construction for several two-sided SYK models with and without coupling between the two sides, and find good agreement with known results in the low-temperature conformal limit. In particular, we find bulk features consistent with the presence of a black hole horizon for the TFD state, and characterize the infalling fermion modes. We are also able to extract bulk quantities such as the curvature and bulk state correlators in terms of boundary quantities. In the presence of coupling between the two SYK models, we are able to observe evidence of the shockwave geometry and the traversable wormhole geometry using the two-sided mutual information between the reconstructed bulk operators. Our results show evidence that features of the geometric bulk can survive away from the low temperature conformal limit. Furthermore, the generality of the protocol allows it to be applied to other boundary theories with no canonical holographic bulk.

Abstract We consider a simplified model of double scaled SYK (DSSYK) in which the Hamiltonian is the position operator of the Harmonic oscillator. This model captures the high temperature limit of DSSYK but could also be defined as a quantum theory in its own right. We study properties of the emergent geometry including its dynamics in response to inserting matter particles. In particular, we find that the model displays de Sitter-like properties such as that infalling matter reduces the rate of growth of geodesic slices between the two boundaries. The simplicity of the model allows us to compute the full generating functional for correlation functions of the length mode or any number of matter operators. We provide evidence that the effective action of the geodesic length between boundary points is non-local. Furthermore, we use the on-shell solution for the geodesic lengths between any two boundary points to reconstruct an effective bulk metric and reverse engineer the dilaton gravity theory that generates this metric as a solution.

Abstract Recent developments in static patch holography proposed that quantum gravity in de Sitter space admits a dual description in terms of a quantum mechanical theory living on a timelike surface near the cosmological horizon. In parallel, geometric observables associated with the Einstein-Rosen bridge of a black hole background were suggested to compute the computational complexity of the state dual to a gravitational theory. In this work, we pursue the study of the complexity=volume and complexity=action conjectures in a Schwarzschild-de Sitter geometry perturbed by the insertion of a shockwave at finite boundary times. This analysis extends previous studies that focused either on the complexity=volume 2.0 conjecture, or on the case of a shockwave inserted along the cosmological horizon. We show that the switchback effect, describing the delay in the evolution of complexity in reaction to a perturbation, is a universal feature of the complexity proposals in asymptotically de Sitter space. The geometric origin of this phenomenon is related to the causal connection between the static patches of de Sitter space when a positive pulse of null energy is inserted in the geometry.

Abstract Chiral shift symmetries of the massless free bosons in two dimensions are global symmetries that are somewhat similar to asymptotic symmetries. They are most transparent in double-null coordinates where they are parametrized by two functions of one variable. In BMS-type coordinates, half of them appear as an infinite tower of sub-leading super-shift symmetries.

Abstract We study the gravitational edge mode in the N $$ \mathcal{N} $$ = 1 Jackiw-Teitelboim (JT) supergravity on the disk and its osp(2|1) BF formulation. We revisit the derivation of the finite-temperature Schwarzian action in the conformal gauge of the bosonic JT gravity through wiggling boundary and the frame fluctuation descriptions. Extending our method to N $$ \mathcal{N} $$ = 1 JT supergravity, we derive the finite-temperature super-Schwarzian action for the edge mode from both the wiggling boundary and the superframe field fluctuation. We emphasize the crucial role of the inversion of the super-Schwarzian derivative in elucidating the relation between the isometry and the OSp(2|1) gauging of the super-Schwarzian action. In osp(2|1) BF formulation, we discuss the asymptotic AdS condition. We employ the Iwasawa-like decomposition of OSp(2|1) group element to derive the super-Schwarzian action at finite temperature. We demonstrate that the OSp(2|1) gauging arises from inherent redundancy in the Iwasawa-like decomposition. We also discuss the path integral measure obtained from the Haar measure of OSp(2|1).

Abstract Euclidean path integrals for UV-completions of d-dimensional bulk quantum gravity were recently studied in [1] by assuming that they satisfy axioms of finiteness, reality, continuity, reflection-positivity, and factorization. Sectors H B $$ {\mathcal{H}}_{\mathcal{B}} $$ of the resulting Hilbert space were then defined for any (d − 2)-dimensional surface B $$ \mathcal{B} $$ , where B $$ \mathcal{B} $$ may be thought of as the boundary ∂Σ of a bulk Cauchy surface in a corresponding Lorentzian description, and where B $$ \mathcal{B} $$ includes the specification of appropriate boundary conditions for bulk fields. Cases where B $$ \mathcal{B} $$ was the disjoint union B ⊔ B of two identical (d − 2)-dimensional surfaces B were studied in detail and, after the inclusion of finite-dimensional ‘hidden sectors,’ were shown to provide a Hilbert space interpretation of the associated Ryu-Takayanagi entropy. The analysis was performed by constructing type-I von Neumann algebras A L B $$ {\mathcal{A}}_L^B $$ , A R B $$ {\mathcal{A}}_R^B $$ that act respectively at the left and right copy of B in B ⊔ B. Below, we consider the case of general B $$ \mathcal{B} $$ , and in particular for B $$ \mathcal{B} $$ = B L ⊔ B R with B L , B R distinct. For any B R , we find that the von Neumann algebra at B L acting on the off-diagonal Hilbert space sector H B L ⊔ B R $$ {\mathcal{H}}_{B_L\bigsqcup {B}_R} $$ is a central projection of the corresponding type-I von Neumann algebra on the ‘diagonal’ Hilbert space H B L ⊔ B L $$ {\mathcal{H}}_{B_L\bigsqcup {B}_L} $$ . As a result, the von Neumann algebras A L B L $$ {\mathcal{A}}_L^{B_L} $$ , A R B L $$ {\mathcal{A}}_R^{B_L} $$ defined in [1] using the diagonal Hilbert space H B L ⊔ B L $$ {\mathcal{H}}_{B_L\bigsqcup {B}_L} $$ turn out to coincide precisely with the analogous algebras defined using the full Hilbert space of the theory (including all sectors H B $$ {\mathcal{H}}_{\mathcal{B}} $$ ). A second implication is that, for any H B L ⊔ B R $$ {\mathcal{H}}_{B_L\bigsqcup {B}_R} $$ , including the same hidden sectors as in the diagonal case again provides a Hilbert space interpretation of the Ryu-Takayanagi entropy. We also show the above central projections to satisfy consistency conditions that lead to a universal central algebra relevant to all choices of B L and B R .

Abstract In the framework of double holography, we investigate the entanglement behavior of a subregion of the defect on the boundary of a CFT3. The entanglement entropy of this defect subregion is determined by the quantum extremal surface (QES) anchored at the two endpoints of the subregion from the brane perspective. We further analyze the entanglement entropy of the quantum matter within this QES, which can be extracted from the total entanglement entropy. We find there are two phases of the QES. To numerically distinguish these phases, we design a strategy for approaching the QES by progressively reducing the width of a semi-ellipse-like region within the CFT3, which is bounded by the defect. During this process, we discover an entanglement phase transition driven by the degree of freedom on the brane. In the shrinking phase, the entanglement wedge of the defect subregion sharply decreases to zero as the removal of the CFT3. In contrast, in the stable phase, the wedge almost remains constant. In this phase, the formulas of entanglement measures can be derived based on defect and CFT3 central charges in the semi-classical limit. For entanglement entropy, the classical geometry only contributes a subleading term with logarithmic divergence, but the matter entanglement exhibits a dominant linear divergence, even in the semi-classical limit. For the reflected entropy within the defect subregion, classical geometry contributes a leading term with logarithmic divergence, while the quantum matter within the entanglement wedge only contributes a finite term.

Abstract We determine the complex geometries dual to the semi-classical saddles in three-dimensional gravity with positive or negative cosmological constant. We examine the semi-classical saddles in Liouville field theory and interpret them in terms of gravity theory. For this, we describe the gravity theory by Chern-Simons theory and classify the possible saddles based on the homotopy group argument. We further realize the semi-classical saddles using the mini-superspace model of quantum gravity and explicitly determine the integral contour. In the case of positive cosmological constant, we recovered the geometry used for no-boundary proposal of Hartle and Hawking. In the case of negative cosmological constant, the geometry can be identified with Euclidean anti-de Sitter space attached with imaginary radius spheres. The geometry should be unphysical and several arguments on this issue are provided. Partial results were already presented in our earlier letter, and more detailed derivations and explanations on the results are given along with additional results. In particular, we reproduce the classical Liouville action from the Chern-Simons formulation of dual gravity theory.

Abstract We introduce the Lorentzian path integral of nonlocal quantum gravity. After introducing the functional measure, the Faddeev-Popov sector and the field correlators, we move to perturbation theory and describe Efimov analytic continuation of scattering amplitudes to Euclidean momenta and back to Lorentzian. We show that the conformal instability problem in the Euclidean path integral is solved by suitable gauge choices at the perturbative level. The three examples of Einstein gravity, Stelle gravity and nonlocal quantum gravity are given.

Abstract Tests of the weak cosmic censorship conjecture examine the possibility of the breakdown of predictivity of the gravitational theory considered, by checking if curvature singularities typically present in black hole spacetimes are concealed within an event horizon at all times. A possible method to perform such tests was proposed by Wald and consists in trying to overspin an extremal rotating black hole by throwing at it a test particle with large angular momentum. In this paper, we analyze the effects of dropping a test particle into an extremal quantum rotating BTZ black hole, whose three-dimensional metric captures the exact backreaction from strongly coupled quantum conformal fields. Our analysis reveals that, despite the inclusion of quantum effects, and akin to the classical scenario, these attempts to destroy the black hole are doomed to be unsuccessful. Particles carrying the maximum angular momentum and still falling into an extremal quantum BTZ black hole can, at most, leave it extremal. Nevertheless, we found numerical evidence that large backreaction of the quantum fields tends to disfavor violations of cosmic censorship.

Abstract Covariant phase space methods are applied to the analysis of a causal diamond in 2+1-dimensional pure Einstein gravity. It is found that the reduced phase space is parametrized by a family of charges with a dual geometrical interpretation: they are geometric observables on the corner of the diamond, and they generate diffeomorphisms. The Poisson brackets among them close into an algebra. Knowledge of the corner charges therefore permits reconstruction of the diamond geometry, which realizes a form of local holography. The results are contrasted with the literature, and the path to a quantum description of spacetime geometry is discussed.

Abstract We consider a congruence of null geodesics in the presence of a quantized spacetime metric. The coupling to a quantum metric induces fluctuations in the congruence; we calculate the change in the area of a pencil of geodesics induced by such fluctuations. For the gravitational field in its vacuum state, we find that quantum gravity contributes a correction to the null Raychaudhuri equation which is of the same sign as the classical terms. We thus derive a quantum-gravitational focusing theorem valid for linearized quantum gravity.

Abstract We study shape deformations of two-dimensional end-of-the-world (ETW) branes, such as those in bottom-up models of two-dimensional holographic boundary conformal field theories (BCFT), and derive an action for the theory of brane deformations in any bulk three-dimensional maximally symmetric spacetime. In the case of a bulk anti-de Sitter (AdS) spacetime, at leading order in the ultraviolet cutoff, the induced theory on the brane controlling its shape is Liouville gravity coupled to quantum matter. We show in certain limits the theory reduces to semi-classical AdS, dS or flat Jackiw-Teitelboim (JT) gravity, thus providing the first doubly-holographic derivation of two-dimensional models of dilaton gravity minimally coupled to a large number of conformal fields. Specializing to the AdS JT gravity limit, we discuss the dual BCFT interpretation and provide evidence that changing the boundary conditions of JT gravity on the brane is equivalent to a deformation of the dual BCFT with the displacement operator. This establishes a doubly-holographic triality between (i) brane deformations in the bulk, (ii) JT gravity in the brane description, and (iii) irrelevant deformations of the CFT boundary. Lastly, in the presence of a non-trivial dilaton profile, we prove that the Ryu-Takayanagi formula for holographic BCFTs receives a contact term whenever the minimal surface ends on the brane.

Abstract Using the framework of quantum Riemannian geometry, we show that gravity on the product of spacetime and a fuzzy sphere is equivalent under minimal assumptions to gravity on spacetime, an su 2-valued Yang-Mills field A μi and a real-symmetric-matrix valued Liouville-sigma model field h ij for gravity on the fuzzy sphere. Moreover, a massless real scalar field on the product appears as a tower of scalar fields on spacetime, with one for each internal integer spin l representation of SU(2), minimally coupled to A μi and with mass depending on l and the fuzzy sphere size. For discrete values of the deformation parameter, the fuzzy spheres can be reduced to matrix algebras M 2j+1(ℂ) for j any non-negative half-integer, and in this case only integer spins 0 ≤ l ≤ 2j appear in the multiplet. Thus, for j = 1 a massless field on the product appears as a massless SU(2) internal spin 0 field, a massive internal spin 1 field and a massive internal spin 2 field, in mass ratio 0, 1, 3 $$ \sqrt{3} $$ respectively, which we conjecture could arise in connection with an approximate SU(2) flavour symmetry.

Abstract We couple to group field theory (GFT) a scalar field that encodes the entanglement between manifold sites. The scalar field provides a relational clock that enables the derivation of the Hamiltonian of the system from the GFT action. Inspecting the Hamiltonian, we show that a theory of emergent gravity arises, and that this can be recast according to the Ashtekar’s formulation of general relativity. The evolution of the GFT observables is regulated by the Shrödinger equation generated by the Hamiltonian. This is achieved by imposing a renormalization group (RG) flow that corresponds to a simplified Ricci flow. As a consequence of the quantization procedure, the Hamiltonian is recovered to be non-Hermitian, and can be related to the complex action formalism, in which the initial conditions and the related future evolution of the systems are dictated by the imaginary part of the action.

Abstract Asymptotically massless towers of species are ubiquitous in the string landscape when infinite-distance limits are approached. Due to the remarkable properties of string dualities, they always comprise Kaluza-Klein states or higher-spin excitations of weakly coupled, asymptotically tensionless critical strings. The connection between towers of light species and small black holes warrants seeking a bottom-up rationale for this dichotomoy, dubbed emergent string conjecture. In this paper we move a first step in this direction, exploring bottom-up constraints on towers of light species motivated purely from the consistency of the corresponding thermodynamic picture for small black holes. These constraints shed light on the allowed towers in quantum gravity, and, upon combining them with unitarity and causality constraints from perturbative graviton scattering, they provide evidence for the emergent string scenario with no reference to a specific ultraviolet completion.

Abstract We investigate the integrability anomalies arising in the self-dual sectors of gravity and Yang-Mills theory, focusing on their connection to both the chiral anomaly and the trace anomaly. The anomalies in the self-dual sectors generate the one-loop all-plus amplitudes of gravitons and gluons, and have recently been studied via twistor constructions. On the one hand, we show how they can be interpreted as an anomaly of the chiral U(1) electric-magnetic-type duality in the self-dual sectors. We also note the similarity, for the usual fermionic chiral anomaly, between the 4D setting of self-dual Yang-Mills and the 2D setting of the Schwinger model. On the other hand, the anomalies in the self-dual theories also resemble the trace anomaly, sharing the same type of non-local effective action. We highlight the role of a Weyl-covariant fourth-order differential operator familiar from the trace anomaly literature, which (i) explains the conformal properties of the one-loop amplitudes, and (ii) indicates how this story may be extended to non-trivial spacetime backgrounds, e.g. with a cosmological constant. Moving beyond the self-dual sectors, and focusing on the gravity case, we comment on an intriguing connection to the two-loop ultraviolet divergence of pure gravity, whereby cancelling the anomaly at one-loop eliminates the two-loop divergence for the simplest helicity amplitudes.

Abstract The landscape of low-energy effective field theories stemming from string theory is too vast for a systematic exploration. However, the meadows of the string landscape may be fertile ground for the application of machine learning techniques. Employing neural network learning may allow for inferring novel, undiscovered properties that consistent theories in the landscape should possess, or checking conjectural statements about alleged characteristics thereof. The aim of this work is to describe to what extent the string landscape can be explored with neural network-based learning. Our analysis is motivated by recent studies that show that the string landscape is characterized by finiteness properties, emerging from its underlying tame, o-minimal structures. Indeed, employing these results, we illustrate that any low-energy effective theory of string theory is endowed with certain statistical learnability properties. Consequently, several local learning problems therein formulated, including interpolations and multi-class classification problems, can be concretely addressed with machine learning, delivering results with sufficiently high accuracy.

Abstract Recently it was proposed that, the AdS/BCFT correspondence can be simulated by a holographic Weyl transformed CFT2, where the cut-off brane plays the role of the Karch-Randall (KR) brane [1]. In this paper, we focus on the Weyl transformation that optimizes the path integral computation of the reduced density matrix for a single interval in a holographic CFT2. When we take the limit that one of the endpoint of the interval goes to infinity (a half line), such a holographic Weyl transformed CFT2 matches the AdS/BCFT configuration for a BCFT with one boundary. Without taking the limit, the induced cutoff brane becomes a circle passing through the two endpoints of the interval. We assume that the cutoff brane also plays the same role as the KR brane in AdS/BCFT, hence the path-integral-optimized purification for the interval is in the island phase. This explains the appearance of negative mutual information observed in [2]. We check that, the entanglement entropy and the balanced partial entanglement entropy (BPE) calculated via the island formulas, exactly match with the RT formula and the entanglement wedge cross-section (EWCS), which are allowed to anchor on the cutoff brane.

Abstract We construct a gauge theory model on the 4-dimensional ρ-Minkowski space-time, a particular deformation of the Minkowski space-time recently considered. The corresponding star product results from a combination of Weyl quantization map and properties of the convolution algebra of the special Euclidean group. We use noncommutative differential calculi based on twisted derivations together with a twisted notion of noncommutative connection. The twisted derivations pertain to the Hopf algebra of ρ-deformed translations, a Hopf subalgebra of the ρ-deformed Poincaré algebra which can be viewed as defining the quantum symmetries of the ρ-Minkowski space-time. The gauge theory model is left invariant under the action of the ρ-deformed Poincaré algebra. The kinetic part of the action is found to coincide with the one of the usual (commutative) electrodynamics.

Abstract We study a physically motivated representation of an algebra of operators in gravitational and non gravitational theories called the covariant representation of an algebra. This is a representation where the symmetries of the operator algebra are implemented unitarily on the Hilbert space. We emphasize the very close similarity of this representation to the crossed product of an algebra. In fact, as an example of (and sometimes identified with) a covariance algebra, the crossed product of an algebra is in one to one correspondence with the covariant representation of the algebra. This will in turn illuminate physically what the crossed product algebra is in the context of quantum gravity.

Abstract We derive a prescription for the phase space of general relativity on two intersecting null surfaces using the null initial value formulation. The phase space allows generic smooth initial data, and the corresponding boundary symmetry group is the semidirect product of the group of arbitrary diffeomorphisms of each null boundary which coincide at the corner, with a group of reparameterizations of the null generators. The phase space can be consistently extended by acting with half-sided boosts that generate Weyl shocks along the initial data surfaces. The extended phase space includes the relative boost angle between the null surfaces as part of the initial data. We then apply the Wald-Zoupas framework to compute gravitational charges and fluxes associated with the boundary symmetries. The non-uniqueness in the charges can be reduced to two free parameters by imposing covariance and invariance under rescalings of the null normals. We show that the Wald-Zoupas stationarity criterion cannot be used to eliminate the non-uniqueness. The different choices of parameters correspond to different choices of polarization on the phase space. We also derive the symmetry groups and charges for two subspaces of the phase space, the first obtained by fixing the direction of the normal vectors, and the second by fixing the direction and normalization of the normal vectors. The second symmetry group consists of Carrollian diffeomorphisms on the two boundaries. Finally we specialize to future event horizons by imposing the condition that the area element be non-decreasing and become constant at late times. For perturbations about stationary backgrounds we determine the independent dynamical degrees of freedom by solving the constraint equations along the horizons. We mod out by the degeneracy directions of the presymplectic form, and apply a similar procedure for weak non-degeneracies, to obtain the horizon edge modes and the Poisson structure. We show that the area operator of the black hole generates a shift in the relative boost angle under the Poisson bracket.

Abstract Quantum error correction has given us a natural language for the emergence of spacetime, but the black hole interior poses a challenge for this framework: at late times the apparent number of interior degrees of freedom in effective field theory can vastly exceed the true number of fundamental degrees of freedom, so there can be no isometric (i.e. inner-product preserving) encoding of the former into the latter. In this paper we explain how quantum error correction nonetheless can be used to explain the emergence of the black hole interior, via the idea of “non-isometric codes protected by computational complexity”. We show that many previous ideas, such as the existence of a large number of “null states”, a breakdown of effective field theory for operations of exponential complexity, the quantum extremal surface calculation of the Page curve, post-selection, “state-dependent/state-specific” operator reconstruction, and the “simple entropy” approach to complexity coarse-graining, all fit naturally into this framework, and we illustrate all of these phenomena simultaneously in a soluble model.