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In two spacetime dimensions the Virasoro heavy-heavy-light-light (HHLL) vacuum block in a certain limit is governed by the Catalan numbers. The equation for their generating function can be generalized to a differential equation which the logarithm of the block satisfies. We show that a similar story holds for the HHLL ${\cal W}_N$ vacuum blocks, where a suitable generalization of the Catalan numbers plays the main role. Moreover, the ${\cal W}_N$ blocks have the same form as the stress tensor sector of HHLL near lightcone conformal correlators in $2(N-1)$ spacetime dimensions. In the latter case the Catalan numbers are generalized to the numbers of linear extensions of certain partially ordered sets., Comment: 36 pages, 6 figures. v2: Minor correction of reference. v3: Minor clarifications and one added reference

This paper presents EinsteinPy (version 0.3), a community-developed Python package for gravitational and relativistic astrophysics. Python is a free, easy to use a high-level programming language which has seen a huge expansion in the number of its users and developers in recent years. Specifically, a lot of recent studies show that the use of Python in Astrophysics and general physics has increased exponentially. We aim to provide a very high level of abstraction, an easy to use interface and pleasing user experience. EinsteinPy is developed keeping in mind the state of a theoretical gravitational physicist with little or no background in computer programming and trying to work in the field of numerical relativity or trying to use simulations in their research. Currently, EinsteinPy supports simulation of time-like and null geodesics and calculates trajectories in different background geometries some of which are Schwarzschild, Kerr, and KerrNewmann along with coordinate inter-conversion pipeline. It has a partially developed pipeline for plotting and visualization with dependencies on libraries like Plotly, matplotlib, etc. One of the unique features of EinsteinPy is a sufficiently developed symbolic tensor manipulation utilities which are a great tool in itself for teaching yourself tensor algebra which for many beginner students can be overwhelmingly tricky. EinsteinPy also provides few utility functions for hypersurface embedding of Schwarzschild spacetime which further will be extended to model gravitational lensing simulation., Comment: We plan to submit it to A&A. 9 pages

We study warped flat geometries in three-dimensional topologically massive gravity. They are quotients of global warped flat spacetime, whose isometries are given by the 2-dimensional centrally extended Poincar\'e algebra. The latter can be obtained as a certain scaling limit of Warped AdS3 space with a positive cosmological constant. We discuss the causal structure of the resulting spacetimes using projection diagrams. We study their charges and thermodynamics, together with asymptotic Killing vectors preserving a consistent set of boundary conditions including them. The asymptotic symmetry group is given by a Warped CFT algebra, with a vanishing current level. A generalization of the derivation of the Warped Cardy formula applies in this case, reproducing the entropy of the warped flat cosmological spacetimes., Comment: 44 pages, 4 figures, 1 Mathematica file, added clarifications, matches published version

The eikonal phase which determines the Regge limit of the gravitational scattering amplitude of a light particle off a heavy one in Minkowski spacetimes admits an expansion in the ratio of the Schwarzschild radius of the heavy particle to the impact parameter. Such an eikonal phase in AdS spacetimes of any dimensionality has been computed to all orders and reduces to the corresponding Minkowski result when both the impact parameter and the Schwarzschild radius are much smaller than the AdS radius. The leading term in the AdS eikonal phase can be reproduced in the dual CFT by a single stress tensor conformal block, but the subleading term is a result of an infinite sum of the double stress tensor contributions. We provide a closed form expression for the OPE coefficients of the leading twist double stress tensors in four spacetime dimensions and perform the sum to compute the corresponding lightcone behavior of a heavy-heavy-light-light CFT correlator. The resulting compact expression passes a few nontrivial independent checks. In particular, it agrees with the subleading eikonal phase at large impact parameter., Comment: 29 pages; v2: minor typos corrected

We compute the phase shift of a highly energetic particle traveling in the background of an asymptotically AdS black hole. In the dual CFT, the phase shift is related to a four point function in the Regge limit. The black hole mass is translated to the ratio between the conformal dimension of a heavy operator and the central charge. This ratio serves as a useful expansion parameter; its power measures the number of stress tensors appearing in the intermediate channel. We compute the leading term in the phase shift in a holographic CFT of arbitrary dimensionality using Conformal Regge Theory and observe complete agreement with the gravity result. In a two-dimensional CFT with a large central charge the heavy-heavy-light-light Virasoro vacuum block reproduces the gravity phase shift to all orders in the expansion parameter. We show that the leading order phase shift is related to the anomalous dimensions of certain double trace operators and verify this agreement using known results for the latter. We also perform a separate gravity calculation of these anomalous dimensions to second order in the expansion parameter and compare with the phase shift expansion., Comment: 47 pages; v2: minor reference and typo updates; v3: fig. 1 added + minor updates for clarifications

Two-dimensional CFTs have an infinite set of commuting conserved charges, known as the quantum KdV charges. We study the Generalized Gibbs Ensemble with chemical potentials for these charges at high temperature. In a large central charge limit, the partition function can be computed in a saddle-point approximation. We compare the ensemble values of the KdV charges to the values in a microstate, and find that they match irrespective of the values of the chemical potentials. We study the partition function at finite central charge perturbatively in the chemical potentials, and find that this degeneracy is broken. We also study the statistics of the KdV charges at high level within a Virasoro representation, and find that they are sharply peaked., Comment: 19 pages, no figures; v2: references added & updated

Two dimensional CFTs have an infinite set of commuting conserved charges, known as the quantum KdV charges, built out of the stress tensor. We compute the thermal correlation functions of the these KdV charges on a circle. We show that these correlation functions are given by quasi-modular differential operators acting on the torus partition function. We determine their modular transformation properties, give explicit expressions in a number of cases, and give a general form which determines an arbitrary correlation function up to a finite number of functions of the central charge. We show that these modular differential operators annihilate the characters of the (2m+1,2) family of non-unitary minimal models. We also show that the distribution of KdV charges becomes sharply peaked at large level., Comment: 56 pages, 1 figure; v2, references added & updated

We study conformal blocks for thermal one-point-functions on the sphere in conformal field theories of general dimension. These thermal conformal blocks satisfy second order Casimir differential equations and have integral representations related to AdS Witten diagrams. We give an analytic formula for the scalar conformal block in terms of generalized hypergeometric functions. As an application, we deduce an asymptotic formula for the three-point coeffcients of primary operators in the limit where two of the operators are heavy., Comment: 39 pages, 2 figures, v2: added minor clarification and references

We give a holographic description of global conformal blocks in two dimensional conformal field theory on the sphere and on the torus. We show that the conformal blocks for one-point functions on the torus can be written as Witten diagrams in thermal AdS. This is accomplished by deriving a general conformal Casimir equation for global conformal blocks, and showing that Witten diagrams obey the same equation. We study the semi-classical limit of n-point conformal blocks, and show that these equal the action of a network of bulk world-lines obeying appropriate geodesic equations. We give an alternate description in the Chern-Simons formulation of 3D gravity, where the conformal blocks are described by networks of Wilson lines, and argue that these formulations are equivalent., Comment: 32 pages, 6 figures

We investigate the constraints of crossing symmetry on CFT correlation functions. Four point conformal blocks are naturally viewed as functions on the upper-half plane, on which crossing symmetry acts by PSL(2,Z) modular transformations. This allows us to construct a unique, crossing symmetric function out of a given conformal block by averaging over PSL(2,Z). In some two dimensional CFTs the correlation functions are precisely equal to the modular average of the contributions of a finite number of light states. For example, in the two dimensional Ising and tri-critical Ising model CFTs, the correlation functions of identical operators are equal to the PSL(2,Z) average of the Virasoro vacuum block; this determines the 3 point function coefficients uniquely in terms of the central charge. The sum over PSL(2,Z) in CFT2 has a natural AdS3 interpretation as a sum over semi-classical saddle points, which describe particles propagating along rational tangles in the bulk. We demonstrate this explicitly for the correlation function of certain heavy operators, where we compute holographically the semi-classical conformal block with a heavy internal operator., Comment: 52 pages, 6 figures; v2: Minor corrections, addition of fig 6 and JHEP version

We consider warped AdS_3 black holes in generic higher derivatives gravity theories in 2+1 dimensions. The asymptotic symmetry group of the phase space containing these black holes is the semi-direct product of a centrally extended Virasoro algebra and an affine u(1) Kac-Moody algebra. Previous works have shown that in some specific theories, the entropy of these black holes agrees with a Cardy-like entropy formula derived for warped conformal field theories. In this paper, we show that this entropy matching continues to hold for the most general higher derivative theories of gravity. We also discuss the existence of phase transitions., Comment: 35 pages, 1 figure, added references

We extend the results of arXiv:1401.7016, computing one loop partition functions for massive fields with spin half in AdS_2 using the quasinormal mode method proposed by Denef, Hartnoll, and Sachdev in arXiv:0908.2657. We find the finite representations of SO(2,1) for spin zero and spin half, consisting of a highest weight state |h\rangle and descendants with non-unitary values of h. These finite representations capture the poles and zeroes of the one loop determinants. Together with the asymptotic behavior of the partition functions (which can be easily computed using a large mass heat kernel expansion), these are sufficient to determine the full answer for the one loop determinants. We also discuss extensions to higher dimensional AdS_{2n} and higher spins., Comment: 18 pages + appendix; V2 has an extended section 5, following a suggestion by the referee

We derive the holographic entanglement entropy contribution from pure and mixed gravitational Chern-Simons(CS) terms in AdS$_{2k+1}$. This is done through two different methods : first, by a direct evaluation of CS action in a holographic replica geometry and second by a descent of Dong's derivation applied to the corresponding anomaly polynomial. In lower dimensions $(k=1,2)$, the formula coincides with the Wald-Tachikawa formula for black hole entropy from gravitational CS terms. New extrinsic curvature corrections appear for $k\geq 3$ : we give explicit and concise expressions for the two pure gravitational CS terms in AdS$_7$ and present various consistency checks, including agreements with the black hole entropy formula when evaluated at the bifurcation surface., Comment: 29 pages + 47 pages of appendices ; v3: Typos corrected, minor corrections and JHEP version

Recent derivations of Cardy-like formulae in higher dimensional field theories have opened up a way of computing, via AdS/CFT, universal contributions to black hole entropy from gravitational Chern-Simons terms. Based on the manifestly covariant formulation of the differential Noether charge for Chern-Simons terms proposed in arXiv:1407.6364, we compute the entropy and asymptotic charges for the rotating charged AdS black holes in higher dimensions at leading order of the fluid/gravity derivative expansion in the Einstein-Maxwell-Chern-Simons system. This gives a result that exactly matches the field theory predictions from Cardy-like formulae., Comment: 22 pages + 77 pages of appendices; v2: minor corrections and JHEP version

We revisit the study of a 2D quantum field theory in the hydrodynamic regime and develop a formalism based on Euclidean one-loop partition functions that is suitable to analyze transport properties due to gauge and gravitational anomalies. To do so, we generalize the method of a modified Dirac operator developed for zero-temperature anomalies to finite temperature, chemical potentials and rotations., Comment: 5 pages

We construct a manifestly covariant differential Noether charge for theories with Chern-Simons terms in higher dimensional spacetimes. This is in contrast to Tachikawa's extension of the standard Lee-Iyer-Wald formalism which results in a non-covariant differential Noether charge for Chern-Simons terms. On a bifurcation surface, our differential Noether charge integrates to the Wald-like entropy formula proposed by Tachikawa in arXiv:hep-th/0611141., Comment: 45 pages; v2: minor corrections and JHEP version

In this note, we calculate the one-loop determinant for a massive scalar (with conformal dimension $\Delta$) in even-dimensional AdS$_{d+1}$ space, using the quasinormal mode method developed in arXiv:0908.2657 by Denef, Hartnoll, and Sachdev. Working first in two dimensions on the related Euclidean hyperbolic plane $H_2$, we find a series of zero modes for negative real values of $\Delta$ whose presence indicates a series of poles in the one-loop partition function $Z(\Delta)$ in the $\Delta$ complex plane; these poles contribute temperature-independent terms to the thermal AdS partition function computed in arXiv:0908.2657. Our results match those in a series of papers by Camporesi and Higuchi, as well as Gopakumar et al. in arXiv:1103.3627 and Banerjee et al. in arXiv:1005.3044. We additionally examine the meaning of these zero modes, finding that they Wick-rotate to quasinormal modes of the AdS$_2$ black hole. They are also interpretable as matrix elements of the discrete series representations of $SO(2,1)$ in the space of smooth functions on $S^1$. We generalize our results to general even dimensional AdS$_{2n}$, again finding a series of zero modes which are related to discrete series representations of $SO(2n,1)$, the motion group of $H_{2n}$., Comment: 27 pages; v2: minor updates and JHEP version

We study the thermal helicity, defined in arXiv:1211.3850, of a conformal field theory with anomalies in the context of AdS$_{2n+1}$/CFT$_{2n}$. To do so, we consider large charged rotating AdS black holes in the Einstein-Maxwell-Chern-Simons theory with a negative cosmological constant using fluid/gravity expansion. We compute the anomaly-induced current and stress tensor of the dual CFT in leading order of the fluid/gravity derivative expansion and show their agreement with the field theoretical replacement rule for the thermal helicity. Such replacement rule is reflected in the bulk by new replacement rules obeyed by the Hall currents around the black hole., Comment: 20 pages + 47 pages of appendices ; v2: minor corrections

Unlike three-dimensional Einstein gravity, three-dimensional massive gravity admits asymptotically de Sitter space (dS) black hole solutions. These black holes present interesting features and provide us with toy models to study the dS/CFT correspondence. A remarkable property of these black holes is that they are always in thermal equilibrium with the cosmological horizon of the space that hosts them. This invites us to study the thermodynamics of these solutions within the context of dS/CFT. We study the asymptotic symmetry group of the theory and find that it indeed coincides with the local two-dimensional conformal algebra. The charge algebra associated to the asymptotic Killing vectors consists of two copies of the Virasoro algebra with non-vanishing central extension. We compute the mass and angular momentum of the dS black holes and verify that a naive application of Cardy's formula exactly reproduces the entropy of both the black hole and the cosmological horizon. By adapting the holographic renormalization techniques to the case of dS space, we define the boundary stress tensor of the dual Euclidean conformal field theory., Comment: 13 pages

A scalar field in four-dimensional deSitter spacetime (dS_4) has quasinormal modes which are singular on the past horizon of the south pole and decay exponentially towards the future. These are found to lie in two complex highest-weight representations of the dS_4 isometry group SO(4,1). The Klein-Gordon norm cannot be used for quantization of these modes because it diverges. However a modified `R-norm', which involves reflection across the equator of a spatial S^3 slice, is nonsingular. The quasinormal modes are shown to provide a complete orthogonal basis with respect to the R-norm. Adopting the associated R-adjoint effectively transforms SO(4,1) to the symmetry group SO(3,2) of a 2+1-dimensional CFT. It is further shown that the conventional Euclidean vacuum may be defined as the state annihilated by half of the quasinormal modes, and the Euclidean Green function obtained from a simple mode sum. Quasinormal quantization contrasts with some conventional approaches in that it maintains manifest dS-invariance throughout. The results are expected to generalize to other dimensions and spins., Comment: 23 pages. v2: minor edits, matches published version

A recently conjectured microscopic realization of the dS$_4$/CFT$_3$ correspondence relating Vasiliev's higher-spin gravity on dS$_4$ to a Euclidean $Sp(N)$ CFT$_3$ is used to illuminate some previously inaccessible aspects of the dS/CFT dictionary. In particular it is argued that states of the boundary CFT$_3$ on $S^2$ are holographically dual to bulk states on geodesically complete, spacelike $R^3$ slices which terminate on an $S^2$ at future infinity. The dictionary is described in detail for the case of free scalar excitations. The ground states of the free or critical $Sp(N)$ model are dual to dS-invariant plane-wave type vacua, while the bulk Euclidean vacuum is dual to a certain mixed state in the CFT$_3$. CFT$_3$ states created by operator insertions are found to be dual to (anti) quasinormal modes in the bulk. A norm is defined on the $R^3$ bulk Hilbert space and shown for the scalar case to be equivalent to both the Zamolodchikov and pseudounitary C-norm of the $Sp(N)$ CFT$_3$., Comment: 24 pages

There are (at least) two surfaces of particular interest in eternal de Sitter space. One is the timelike hypersurface constituting the lab wall of a static patch observer and the other is the future boundary of global de Sitter space. We study both linear and non-linear deformations of four-dimensional de Sitter space which obey the Einstein equation. Our deformations leave the induced conformal metric and trace of the extrinsic curvature unchanged for a fixed hypersurface. This hypersurface is either timelike within the static patch or spacelike in the future diamond. We require the deformations to be regular at the future horizon of the static patch observer. For linearized perturbations in the future diamond, this corresponds to imposing incoming flux solely from the future horizon of a single static patch observer. When the slices are arbitrarily close to the cosmological horizon, the finite deformations are characterized by solutions to the incompressible Navier-Stokes equation for both spacelike and timelike hypersurfaces. We then study, at the level of linearized gravity, the change in the discrete dispersion relation as we push the timelike hypersurface toward the worldline of the static patch. Finally, we study the spectrum of linearized solutions as the spacelike slices are pushed to future infinity and relate our calculations to analogous ones in the context of massless topological black holes in AdS$_4$., Comment: 27 pages, 8 figures

We consider asymptotically future de Sitter spacetimes endowed with an eternal observatory. In the conventional descriptions, the conformal metric at the future boundary I^+ is deformed by the flux of gravitational radiation. We however impose an unconventional future "Dirichlet" boundary condition requiring that the conformal metric is flat everywhere except at the conformal point where the observatory arrives at I^+. This boundary condition violates conventional causality, but we argue the causality violations cannot be detected by any experiment in the observatory. We show that the bulk-to-bulk two-point functions obeying this future boundary condition are not realizable as operator correlation functions in any de Sitter invariant vacuum, but they do agree with those obtained by double analytic continuation from anti-de Sitter space., Comment: 16 pages

The asymptotic symmetry group (ASG) at future null infinity (I^+) of four-dimensional de Sitter spacetimes is defined and shown to be given by the group of three-dimensional diffeomorphisms acting on I^+. Finite charges are constructed for each choice of ASG generator together with a two-surface on I^+. A conservation equation is derived relating the evolution of the charges with the radiation flux through I^+., Comment: 16 pages, 1 figure

The destruction of anomalous diffusion of the Harper model at criticality, due to weak nonlinearity $\chi$, is analyzed. It is shown that the second moment grows subdiffusively as $ \sim t^{\alpha}$ up to time $t^*\sim \chi^{\gamma}$. The exponents $\alpha$ and $\gamma$ reflect the multifractal properties of the spectra and the eigenfunctions of the linear model. For $t>t^*$, the anomalous diffusion law is recovered, although the evolving profile has a different shape than in the linear case. These results are applicable in wave propagation through nonlinear waveguide arrays and transport of Bose-Einstein condensates in optical lattices., Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures. Revised and published in Phys. Rev. B

Using a Wigner Lorentzian Random Matrix ensemble, we study the fidelity, $F(t)$, of systems at the Anderson metal-insulator transition, subject to small perturbations that preserve the criticality. We find that there are three decay regimes as perturbation strength increases: the first two are associated with a gaussian and an exponential decay respectively and can be described using Linear Response Theory. For stronger perturbations $F(t)$ decays algebraically as $F(t)\sim t^{-D_2}$, where $D_2$ is the correlation dimension of the critical eigenstates., Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures. Revised and published in Phys. Rev. Lett